The NBA Board of Governors has approved a number of rule changes to decrease stoppages, particularly during the often drawn-out ends of games. Starting next season, the maximum number of timeouts per game will decrease from 18 to 14. In addition, teams will be limited to two team timeouts each during the last three minutes of a game, instead of the three that they were previously allowed.

Each team will have seven timeouts per game, with no restrictions per half.

All team timeouts will be 75 seconds. In the previous format, “full” timeouts were 90 seconds and “20-second” timeouts were 60 seconds. Both “full” and “20-second” timeouts have been replaced by team timeouts.

All four periods will have two mandatory timeouts, which will take place after the first stoppage under the seven- and three-minute marks.

The under-nine-minute mandatory timeouts in the second and fourth periods will be eliminated.

Each team can enter the fourth period with up to four team timeouts.

Each team will be limited to two team timeouts after the later of (i) the three-minute mark of the fourth period or (ii) the resumption of play after the second mandatory timeout of the fourth period.

Each team will have two team timeouts per overtime period; previously teams had three.

In an unrelated change, the League will move the trade deadline from the Thursday after the All-Star Game to the second-to-last Thursday before the All-Star Game. Teams will be able to finalize their rosters before the All-Star break and avoid the disruption of bringing in new players just as games are starting up again. This will also mean no more All-Star weekends cluttered with trade rumors, which should be good news for DeMarcus Cousins.

“Man, give me a break. I just need one All-Star where it’s All-Star questions.” DeMarcus Cousins on trade rumors pic.twitter.com/JV04Sab0K8

13 players averaged at least 25 points per game. 11 made at least 200 three-pointers. 13 had a PER over 25. Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double, James Harden led the League in assists. Isaiah Thomas became a superstar. Joel Embiid became the Process. Stephen Curry made 324 three-pointers and LeBron James averaged 26 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists and nobody even talked about either of them.

The 2016-17 season was absolutely bonkers.

The NBA put together a mixtape to remind us of all the amazing plays made during the regular season. Shout out to basketball for being the best.

The project’s focus would be on His Airness’ comeback in the late ’90s—following a minor league baseball adventure—when he won three of his six championships.

Per the NY Post:

The producing team is led by Mike Tollin, who spearheaded ESPN’s acclaimed “30 for 30” series and is partners with Peter Guber in Mandalay Sports Media. The project has been pitched to ESPN, Showtime, HBO and Fox Sports, and Jordan’s reps are looking for a deal somewhere north of $20 million.

The documentary will cover Jordan’s bizarre retirement from basketball to play professional baseball, the tragic murder of his father, and his triumphant comeback. It is expected the film will gloss over his love of gambling.

The success of ESPN’s eight-hour O.J. Simpson documentary earlier this year is said to have convinced Jordan that the time is right for his life story.

At least three NBA teams have begun to boycott U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s hotels, according to an ESPN report.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks have reportedly moved away from Trump hotels in New York City and Chicago (his other businesses have also taken a hit from consumers lately.).

Sources say that another Eastern Conference team contracted to stay at the Trump SoHo in New York this season has likewise already decided to switch to a different property in Manhattan when its current contract expires at season’s end and that the Trump association is among the factors for the switch.

Seven other teams told ESPN.com on Tuesday that they are still currently scheduled to stay at Trump-branded properties this season. […] As a matter of privacy, ESPN has chosen not to name those eight teams in total so as not to publicly identify where they will be staying on this season’s trips for games against the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or Chicago Bulls.

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban are both high-profile supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who last week lost the race to be the United States’ 45th president to Trump.

This will feature current and former NBA players, coaches and various celebrities.

From the press release:

The star-studded event will recognize NBA players, teams, coaches and executives for their accomplishments and performances from the 2016-17 NBA season. The show will feature the announcements of the Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, Kia NBA Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year.

While in previous years these awards were announced separately throughout the postseason, this marks the first time that all recipients will be honored on the same night. Additional awards will be announced at a later date as well as the venue, the host and the list of presenters.

The Barker Hangar, in Santa Monica, CA, sits right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Breezy winds pick up off the water and make their way through the Hangar, providing a natural air conditioner. During the day, sunlight floods the space, even though it’s only open on one side. A balcony overlooks the whole Hangar and from that view, a portion of the rest of the sprawling Santa Monica Airport can be seen.

The Hangar, and its 35,000 square feet, has become a hotspot for all types of events in recent years. Car shows, concerts, and design fairs have all come through at different points.

This weekend, though, the Hangar played host to hoopers from the greater-Los Angeles area and the final stop of the six-city #DewNBA3X tour. The nationwide 3-on-3 tournament kicked off in May and made its way through Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Houston. Thousands of men and women competed for the grand prize—a chance to represent America at the FIBA 3×3 tournaments at the end of this year.

On Saturday, teams representing Los Angeles vied for a spot to play on Sunday (against the winners from the previous five cities), when the FIBA spot would be on the line. Familiar names like Youtube sensation and NBA player impersonator Brandon Armstrong, better known as BdotAdot5, and Franklin Session, Damian Lillard’s teammate at Weber State, suited up on Saturday. Additionally, former and current NBA players like Gary Payton, Baron Davis, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson all stopped by as well.

“The rules are really different. I wasn’t expecting any of this,” Armstrong said. “Once the team scores, you gotta get the ball and throw it back out. So the first possession they scored, I got it and walked it back out to check it out. They called a travel on me,” he said with a smile.

FIBA has made sure to make the playing and watching experience very different from 5-on-5 ball. Games are to 21, or whoever has the most points after the 10-minute clock expires. There’s a 12-second shot clock and like Bdot said, there’s no checking after buckets. Instead, players grab the ball straight out the basket and throw it up top, past the three-point line.

The game’s played with 1 and 2-pointers. When fouled, teams get one shot until their opponent commits six team fouls, after which they get two shots.

The pace of the game isn’t at all like 5-on-5, which DewNBA3X ambassador Gary Payton noticed.

“Three-on-three, you gotta play defense,” The Glove said. “It’s a lot different. Now you gotta buckle down and guard.”

Team Harlem got the message. The four native New Yorkers traveled out west to win the LA crown and eventually the whole tour.

And yes, a team from New York represented LA. But because the #DewNBA3X tour didn’t have a stop in New York, Anthony Cox, Kavon Lytch, Domo Jones and Dave Seagers traveled across the country to compete for the title of Los Angeles’ best team.

The foursome played a grueling brand of basketball, punishing anyone that stood between them and the basket. They were all capable of getting buckets by themselves and were willing passers when teams brought two or more bodies.

Their game oozed New York. They played one-on-one, dribble breakdown ball, prioritizing getting to the rim over jumpshots. With Cox and Lytch standing 6-9 and 6-7, respectively, their height and athleticism was just too much for The Unknowns (Chicago) to overcome.

“It’s so funny because one of us is always with the other one,” Cox says. “We’ve been playing together for a while, a couple of years. We started off enemies. I played on a different team against Kavon. Dave, you think you got him, and then somehow he gets that bucket. He’s one of those annoying players. But you love his game. It’s a compliment. And Domo… that kid is amazing.”

[Domo] Jones plays with a raw desire to prove his height won’t stop him from getting where he wants to go. His strength was a mismatch for any guard he played against. He was a bully throughout every game, managing everyone on the court.

“We just knew if we played our game, we were going to come out victorious,” Jones says. “We’re all about that New York toughness. That’s all we do, is bring that toughness. Every where we go, we gotta represent where we’re from because ain’t nobody going to give us no passes so we earn it.”

They earned a trip to Doha for the 2016 FIBA 3×3 All-Stars game and at some point down the line, could be representing America in the 2020 Olympics, when 3×3 will become an official sport.

Though Armstrong’s team didn’t make it out of the first day, the YouTube star has already recognized that 3×3 ball is here to stay.

“It’s definitely something that [basketball players] can actually make a career out of and travel the world doing,” he says.

A fresh season is upon us, and with it, the NBA has announced a new, expanded global partnership with hat company New Era. The brand will now be “the official authentic headwear provider of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League.”

Above are a few generic NBA logo New Era hats (which can be purchased at NBAStore.com and neweracap.com), as well as exclusive photos of the “Bucks collection”, designed by Milwaukee head coach Jason Kidd. This specific line will drop tomorrow, October 26, at Bucks Pro Shops and online here.

Here’s the full press release detailing the partnership, via the NBA and New Era:

New Era and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today an expanded global licensing partnership that makes the brand the official authentic headwear provider of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and NBA Development League (NBA D-League).

As the league’s official authentic headwear provider, New Era will exclusively produce caps for marquee NBA events, including the NBA Draft presented by State Farm®, Conference Finals and NBA Finals, with key products like the NBA Draft Cap and Official Locker Room Championship Cap. The multiyear deal comes as the NBA celebrates its 20-year relationship with New Era, and will include marketing and retail activations within league and team platforms.

“We’ve been a partner of the NBA for many years and are excited for the opportunity to continue to work with such a storied league and its outstanding teams,” said Chris Koch, President & CEO, New Era. “We’re looking forward to using team and league logos to bring unique designs and styles to the market for both players and fans.”

As part of the expanded partnership, New Era launched the 59FIFTY fitted headwear collection for the start of the 2016-17 season, and will unveil lifestyle-inspired products during NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans. Additionally, New Era will produce all headwear silhouettes with current team marks, including the 9FIFTY Snapback, internationally.

“We’re very excited to grow our relationship with New Era and explore new ways to share premium product with our fans,” said NBA Vice President, Global Partnerships Lisa Piken Koper. “The NBA Draft and Finals will reflect our refreshed approach to the category.”

Merchandise will be available at www.NBAStore.com, www.neweracap.com, the Flagship NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, all NBA team venues, and at New Era flagship stores and retailers around the world.

The NBA and NBPA each have until Dec. 15 to exercise an opt-out clause of the current 10-year deal that was reached in 2011, but sources on both sides believe that a new deal will be in place prior to that date.

During several months of discussions, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, as well as their respective committees and staffs, have agreed upon many of the significant collective bargaining issues, league sources said. Much of the remaining talks are centered upon smaller elements of the CBA, league sources said.

From the outset of the talks, there has been a spirit of cooperation between Silver and Roberts, largely reflective of strong economic times in the NBA. […] Among expected changes in the new CBA, league sources said: A significantly higher rookie contract scale and two-way contracts between the NBA and NBA Development League that will add playing jobs for the union.

The 2016-17 season promises to be a good one. With the new-look Warriors, the Cavs trying to repeat, the first campaign in years without Kobe, Timmy, or KG, and the revenge of Russell Westbrook, there are too many story lines to get excited about.

The NBA’s biggest stars are also excited. The League grabbed players from each team to talk about it. Check the video up top to see names like LeBron, Carmelo, CP3, Curry and Gregg Popovich (of course) share what they’re looking forward to.

Media Day is the unofficial start to the NBA season. All 30 teams check in for photos and interviews, the day before training camp begins. It’s the final day to joke around and laugh before the grind picks up again.

The day has turned into a moment for players to show off their sneakers. New silhouettes, classic retros, unreleased PEs all make appearances during the day.

The 2016 Media Day included the introduction to the Under Armour Curry 3, the return of the Nike LeBron III and a peak at a new Air Jordan XXXI ‘way. Check out the gallery up top to see the photos.

The 2015-16 NBA season was filled with lots of drama and lots of highlights. To remind us of this, the NBA continues to show off their very best with new countdowns. The latest is a 50-count of the nicest assists from last year.

Check out the video above to see Stephen Curry, Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James and more setting up their teammates with some crazy dimes.

Continuing on his summer Nike World Tour, Kobe Bryant started off the tour’s European leg in the Netherlands on Thursday. With a focus on inspiring the next generation of athletes, Kobe spoke to kids aged 9-18 at a local public gym called Dudok Arena.

The Mamba’s tour continues in Milan on Friday and wraps up in Paris over the weekend.

Our friends at Fanatics were up late last night preparing the Cavaliers 2016 Championship gear. The NBA Store is now stocked up on all the Cavs gear fans want. Peep the photos above (and if you’re not in NYC, cop gear online here). More details, from Fanatics x NBA Store:

No time is being wasted at Fanatics in the wake of the Cleveland Cavaliers winning their first-ever NBA Championship. Cavaliers Championship T-Shirts are already being printed at Fanatics fulfillment centers following LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and company finishing off the Golden State Warriors to wrap up the greatest NBA Finals comeback in history.

The Cavaliers brought the first major professional sports championship to Cleveland since 1964 with a 93-89 triumph in a road Game 7 against the Warriors. In doing so, the Cavs became the first team in NBA Finals history to battle back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the championship.

A championship that Cavs fans have been waiting decades for, and envisioned since James was drafted by his hometown team in 2003, is undeniably sweet for the loyal Cleveland sports faithful. How it came about, though – James reclaiming his throne averaging 36 points in three must-win games, Irving showing his clutch gene and the team redeeming last year’s Finals loss to Golden State – has to make the champagne taste even sweeter.

The NBA and Mountain Dew are all set to begin the invite-only FIBA qualifying 3-on-3 tournament, for men and women. The six-city tour will touch down in Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. It starts on May 21 and runs till October 23. Each event will be free, streamed on Facebook Live and will feature food trucks, street art, celebrity appearances, music and an “authentic” feel that will help you settle in before the first shot even goes up.

SLAM caught up with Patrick Sullivan, the NBA’s VP of Events Strategy, to talk about what fans can expect of this first-time adventure.

SLAM: What is the Dew NBA 3X?

Patrick Sullivan: It’s out new nationwide elite basketball challenge. The best amateur basketball, on-site entertainment and fan experience. The tour tips off in a couple weeks, on May 21 in Atlanta and will continue for six cities in the US, with the national title in LA, in October. We’re always looking for ways to grow the game, both domestically and internationally. We feel that this model, in partnership with Mountain Dew is really unique for us and one that we’re really, really excited about.

SLAM: Why has the relationship between the NBA and USA Basketball always been so productive?

PS: Just a little background—the winner from LA will be automatically qualified for USAB’s 3-on-3 national tournament. There’s also a FIBA portion. The winner of our national tournament will also compete in the 2017 FIBA World Tour and additionally the FIBA All-Stars in Doha. There’s a fun new path here. In working with USAB, since we announced this a year ago, USAB helps us really bring authenticity to this. The real weight in saying, this is a real path, this is a real thing. The winner from these two NBA events will be on this USAB and FIBA track.

SLAM: What changed from those initial meetings a year ago to today?

PS: USAB has the same goals that we do in getting more people to play at a high level. It started right away and has been on-going since. We work with USAB on a lot of programs. Frankly, it wasn’t a hard sell on either side. We both were in it together. We see the value in both working together, both for USAB and the NBA side as well.

SLAM: Gary Payton will be the Dew NBA 3X Ambassador, along with other NBA players in each city. What can fans expect when they show up? Will it be similar to Fan Fest at All-Star Weekend?

PS: This’ll be different. It’s much more influencer-driven and really more social. A little grittier and edgier and authentic, as well. We’ll have other NBA players and legends. Gary Payton will be the Ambassador throughout the year, but we’ll have other local talent at each of the stops. Anywhere from 3-5 guys that are there interacting with fans. Some of the guys might be GMs of teams. This compared to the Fan Fest, this is much more authentic basketball. It’s very elite competition. Part of the great synergy with Dew, we’re bringing basketball and this authentic expierience and we’re partnering with them on the lifestyle piece of it. There will be things for fans to do. But it’ll be very fashion, lifestyle and basketball focused. Big celebrity portion, as well. But from our perspective it’s to come out and watch great basketball. This is gonna be legit hoops. Guys will definitely be playing. They’re amateurs, but they’re skilled amateurs. It’s not NBA guys playing in this, of course, but it’s gonna be some good basketball.

SLAM: Do we know these players? If we’ve been around LA or Atlanta, have we seen them play?

PS: The six events, three of them are outdoors and three of them are indoors. We’re not set on one model. In Chicago, we’re at the Aragon Ballroom. It’s an indoor venue, a little hipper. In Miami, we’ll be at the National Arts Foundation Plaza, a little bit more culture and art and lifestyle influence. Each of these events are more relevant to that market.

SLAM: What does Mountain Dew bring to the table?

PS: It’s the energy between us and Dew. Everything from our audience being artistic and innovative and trendsetting, it was a perfect match for this. This will definitely be very social. Dew’s the perfect brand for that. We bring the hoops and they bring the lifestyle brand. It’s a really easy match. We’ve been working with Dew since we announced this. They were very much hand-in-hand in this process. This isn’t a thing where they’re just loaning their logo. We’re all in this together, for sure.

The 2015-16 NBA regular season was full of ups and downs, crazy finishes and huge performances in big moments. The NBA put together a highlight reel of the 10 best clutch shots of the season, which you can watch above. Which moment was your favorite? Or the most impressive?

Nearly 22 million people went to an NBA game this year, up from just over 21 million during the ’14-’15 campaign.

Here’s more from the League:

Additionally, the NBA this season established regular-season attendance records for average attendance (17,864), sellouts (723) and average arena capacity (94 percent), surpassing the previous highs set last year. This year marks the 12th straight season that league attendance has been at 90 percent or more of arena capacity.

Highlights from the regular season include:

NBA TV: NBA TV presented its two most-viewed games in history this season (Warriors vs. Spurs on April 10: 2,561,000 viewers; Warriors vs. Spurs on Jan. 25: 1,442,000 viewers), propelling the network to its most-viewed live game coverage ever, averaging 345,000 viewers – up 19 percent over last season.

SOCIAL MEDIA: The NBA set records across social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Vine, YouTube) this season for impressions (30.1 billion, +25%) and video views (4.2 billion, +86%). In February, the NBA became the first professional sports league to surpass one billion social media likes and followers globally across all league, team and player platforms.

NBA LEAGUE PASS: The league’s package of live out-of-market games generated a record 26.7 million game views and more than 1.2 billion minutes viewed to date. Setting a new high mark for digital subscriptions sold in a season, NBA LEAGUE PASS finished up 10 percent year over year.

NBA.COM AND NBA APP: Spurred by record-breaking NBA App consumption, NBA Digital – which includes NBA.com and the NBA App – set all-time highs with 9.1 billion video views and 3.3 billion visits, up 160 percent and 27 percent respectively. Mobile now accounts for 43 percent of all video views, a sharp increase from last season when mobile accounted for 10 percent of all video views.

MERCHANDISE: Sales of Stephen Curry merchandise rose more than 250 percent over the past year, setting the NBAStore.com record for the best-selling player in a single season. Overall, NBAStore.com merchandise sales were up 16 percent versus last year.

LeanIn.org has joined forces with the NBA and WNBA to announce the second season of the #LeanInTogether campaign.

With the help of Becky Hammon, Chris Bosh, Draymond Green and Gordon Hayward, the NBA and WNBA highlight the importance men play in helping to support gender equality.

“Men leaning in is a win-win proposition,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and founder of LeanIn.Org, in a press release. “When men are dedicated fathers and partners, they have healthier, happier children and stronger relationships. When they stand up for gender equality at work, they outperform their peers. Equality is not just the right thing for men—it’s the smart thing.”

Check out the videos, both above and below, to see how Hammon, Bosh, Green and Hayward all lean in.

Go to LeanIn.org for more information and tips on how to support the women in your life.

With the Chinese New Year (February 8) right around the corner, the NBA is set to launch their two-and-a-half week celebration. Check out the video above to see Stephen Curry and James Harden in the Warriors’ and Rockets’ Chinese New Year uniforms. Jeremy Lin also makes an appearance in the spot.

In addition to the uniforms and commercial, the League has big plans to help mainland China get involved in the NBA season. Here’s more from the NBA:

To celebrate the launch of the Chinese New Year, NBA champion and four-time NBA All-Star Shawn Marion traveled to Chengdu today to help spread the joy of the holiday by hosting a basketball clinic and distributing gifts to underprivileged students at the NBA Hope School.

“We are grateful to our Chinese fans for welcoming all 30 NBA teams into their homes as they celebrate the Chinese New Year with family and loved ones,” said NBA China CEO David Shoemaker. “This holiday is about joyful family reunions, and we are thankful that our teams and players are part of the excitement and festivities.”

For the first time, the celebration will showcase the games of all 30 NBA teams. Fans in mainland China will also be treated to a record-breaking number of nationally broadcast games as China Central Television (CCTV) will air 18 games and Tencent will stream 31 games during the campaign. In addition to CCTV and Tencent, fans will also be able to tune in to Guangdong TV, Beijing TV, BesTV, Videoland, Fox Sports, Elta, Taiwan Mobile, and NowTV to enjoy the games.

In the opener of a five-game showcase, LeBron James and the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers will visit Lin and the Hornets on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. ET on Tencent.

Other highly anticipated matchups throughout the campaign period include:

• Curry and the defending champion Warriors facing Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 9 p.m. ET on CCTV and Tencent.

• In a rematch of the 2015 Western Conference Finals, Harden and the Rockets will square off against the Warriors on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET on CCTV and Tencent.

• Kobe Bryant takes on James in Cleveland for the final time when the Los Angeles Lakers play the Cavaliers on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on CCTV and Tencent.

• The San Antonio Spurs visit the Clippers for the first time since last season’s exciting seven-game playoff series on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Tencent.

And for the first time in NBA history, two opposing teams will wear Chinese character jerseys when the Wizards host the Warriors on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET and when the Warriors host the Rockets on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Stay ready for more information about in-arena celebrations and special gear from the NBA.

This year saw a number of headline players return from injury (Paul George, Kevin Durant) and plenty more who decided it was time to exit stage right (Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Kenyon Martin, Jason Richardson, etc.). There were firings (Tom Thibodeau, Scott Brooks, etc.) and new appointments (Alvin Gentry, Billy Donovan, etc.) on the sidelines while the respective general managers / agents made sure there was never a shortage of moving vans driving all over the country (LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarre Carroll, Tyson Chandler, etc.). Sadly, a number of influential, likeable or highly respected people also passed away (Earl Lloyd, Anthony Mason, Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, Flip Saunders, Dean Smith, Dolph Schayes, Meadowlark Lemon, etc.), making the year a somber reminder that nothing lasts forever.

From a pop-culture standpoint, it was rather fitting that the Golden State Warriors ruled over the NBA in the same way Star Wars Episode VII did the box-office. Both were throwbacks to previous game-changing trilogies, both tap into nostalgia and each is a story for a new generation that’s both a continuation and a complete rethink. Elsewhere, be it with advertising (NBA’s antigun violence campaign), fashion (take a Stance) google search terms (Lamar Odom!), gender equality (Female assistant coaches: Becky Hammon and Nancy Liberman), media (ESPN closes Grantland), movies (LeBron survives Trainwreck), politics (Daily Fantasy Sports is deemed gambling), publishing (Kevin Love undresses for The Body Issue), social media (NBA surpasses one billion Vine loops), sneaker releases (Jordan Brand’s 30th anniversary; LeBron debuts new shoe on SLAM 192) or TV shows (Jeremy Lin guest star on ABC’s “Fresh Off The Boat”), 2015 was a mighty big year for Basketball.

Before commencing the countdown, there were five not quite honorable mentions but too large to be footnotes items that this humble author felt the need to include: Zach LaVine’s gravity defying night Brooklyn… Jimmy Butler sounding the Bull-horn… The Kentucky Wildcats’ almost perfect run… DeAndre Jordan double crossing Mark Cuban… and the quiet brilliance of Kawhi Leonard. With all that in mind, here are the 15 people who made the biggest difference to Basketball in 2015.

When Phil Jackson (Team President) and Steve Mills (General Manager) were seemingly forced to select Euro prospect Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, many feared the Knicks would end up with another flameout — think Yi Jianlian (2007) or Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2002) — not the second coming of a Euro saviour in the Pau Gasol or Dirk Nowitzki mold (and it’s worth noting the latter, now one of the six best point producers in NBA history, has publicly praised Kristaps for his early development).

Playing in the media capital of the world is part of the story but the hype and hysteria surrounding the SLAM 195 cover subject is less Linsanity and more harbinger for real hope — New Yorkers can be forgiven for fawning over the rapid adjustment made by Porzingis because his skill set appears to have the potential to carry the storied franchise back into the contender conversation. While part of his immediate fame is ballyhoo attached to Great White Hope marketability, all the celebration is made possible because he has started to deliver like Dominos.

While it’ll be another 24 months before the true quality of the 2015 Draft class is known, Porzingis has done enough over the early stages of the 2015-16 season that there appears to be life beyond Carmelo Anthony. That sort of (contagious) optimism gives the Blue and Orange a significant piece to finally build around. It’s easy to dismiss Porzingis as “flavor of the month” but over the second half of 2015 few have matched the Latvian’s foreign exchange rate (which has climbed from modest to money in the bank).

14. Christopher Arena

Both Google and Facebook decided to give their respective logos a facelift in 2015 and while no singular NBA team carries as much weight as either tech giant, that doesn’t mean that even the slightest franchise identity change isn’t met with the same intensity by fans, be it backlash or praise.

As yours truly highlighted in SLAM Presents: KICKS 18, there has been a noticeable and somewhat dramatic change to a large portion of NBA franchises in 2015. With more and more fans viewing games/highlights via their smart phones, the League has consciously tailored uniforms, courts and branding to fit with consumption. It has been the job of department captain Christopher Arena (and his crew) to oversee the transition from the traditional one-size-fits-all, road and home uniform systems to autonomy/flexibility based on team desires. White (or in the Lakers’ case, Yellow) is no longer the prerequisite for the host just like limiting uniforms to dual sets has become a ghost of the NBA’s past.

The Atlanta Hawks (fearless fusion of eras/errors), Los Angeles Clippers (nautical theme sans nautical theme), Milwaukee Bucks (masterclass in decentralized rebranding), Philadelphia 76ers (losing never looked so good) and Toronto Raptors (goodbye Jurassic Park, hello Jurassic World) all introduced new identities in 2015 with varying degrees of appreciation or animosity. Wherever you looked in 2015, be it Dallas (fan designed skyline jersey), Indiana (30th anniversary “Hickory” get-ups), Memphis (ABA Sounders set), New Orleans (purple and green “Mardi Gras” uniforms), New York (1950’s throwback), Oklahoma City (Sunset alternate) or Sacramento (Baby Blue retro), the NBA wardrobe was expanding at a rate never seen before. Between Christmas Day, Latin Nights, Chinese New Year, St. Patrick’s Day and whatever other occasion team’s wish to emblazon on their players, there’s certainly no shortage of outfits to fill the Association’s shiny new Fifth Avenue store.

While Stance socks were added to the on-court system and the inclusion of a sponsor’s logo on all 2016 All-Star uniforms is a step closer to Advertmageddon, it was the ongoing invasion of sleeves that dominated jersey chatter. In 2015, certain sleeved offerings worked (white edition by Denver, Buzz City tees in Charlotte, racing stripes in Washington DC) while others offended good taste (Chicago and Houston in grey?!?). Dirk Nowitzki spoke out against the t-shirts in late 2013 but it wasn’t until LeBron James ripped his that the disdain threatened to disrupt the adidas x NBA agenda.

13. Maya Moore, Elena Delle Donne and Diana Taurasi

In an ideal world, the major storylines/stars of the WNBA wouldn’t need to be clumped together but as long as the League remains the NBA’s little sister, reality defeats wish. Powered by the highly popular triptych of Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins and Elena Delle Donne, the WNBA’s 19th campaign — it hasn’t even been around as long as Kobe Bryant — show tremendous progress even though its blemishes were visible Diana Taurasi sidelined, Isiah Thomas’ ownership desires, etc.. If nothing else, both sides of the WNBA coin served as a reminder that the Lady’s Association is worthy of your attention even though it still needs advocacy.

Maya Moore: In Game 3 of the 2015 WNBA Finals, Maya Moore hit what could become the W’s signature shot. Her dramatic, top-of-the-key triple against Indiana (as time expired) has been compared to another No. 23’s heroics but what she has done over the course of her first five pro seasons (four Finals appearances, three champagne showers) is reminiscent of Bill Russell’s Celtics, who owned the NBA in the 1960s. There’s a reason why Michael Jordan hand-picked her to endorse the Jumpman and in 2015, the world was treated to another reminder that we might be witnessed basketball’s version of Serena Williams.

Elena Delle Donne: On September 16, 2015, Chicago shotmaker Elena Delle Donne was named the WNBA’s 11th MVP (after averaging 23.4 points — fifth-highest scoring average in league history — 8.4 boards, 1.4 dimes, 1.1 steals and two blocks per). The Sky won 21 of 31 regular season outings with Delle Donne in the line-up and went 0-3 without their 6-5 dynamo. She might’ve registered a pair of 40-point outings and finished top three in both rebounds and blocks per but her showing from the charity stripe (95% accuracy) meant defenders had a better chance of surviving an encounter with Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons than stopping Delle Donne in 2015.

Diana Taurasi: Imagine Mixed Martial Arts without Ronda Rousey. That’s what the WNBA was without its marquee name in 2015 (only it was capitalism, not injury, that kept the mighty Diana away). Instead of defending her WNBA crown, Taurasi’s Russian employers, UMMC Ekaterinburg, made her a Godfather offer to the tune of $1.5 million (for just a few months “work”). Financially speaking, it would’ve been irresponsible for Taurasi to turn down the foreign employment offer… but the bigger dilemma remains: the WNBA – and to an extent, its deep pocket parent – will need to figure out ways to curb more lucrative leagues from ransacking its talent. Whether the WNBA liked it not, Taurasi’s absence was noticeable, preventing the season from being near perfect.

The longer he plays the more gifted he appears (compared to his playmaking peers) and the worse he seems to be cursed (another year, another early postseason exit or team collapse). Appearing in all 82 games for the first time, CP3 was later betrayed by his body in the conference semis but managed to return from a leg strain in time to help the Clippers lose Games 5 (!), 6 (!!) and 7 (!!!) to Houston. That series defeat — another on a long line in a career that’s now reminiscent of Tim Hardaway’s over Isiah Thomas’ — instantly erased memories of CP3’s opening round heroics and that impossible shot over Tim Duncan that helped Steve Ballmer’s boys advance.

Once it appeared as though DeAndre Jordan would depart for Dallas (only to return) because he was unhappy with the situation in Los Angeles, all the long brewing criticisms of Chris Paul finally surfaced, many given justified airing. Salty, difficult and demanding, CP3’s reputation wasn’t painted with flattering remarks but NBA fans are always won over/back by winners, even problematic ones, so all is not lost for Chris Paul — Isiah Thomas wasn’t well liked but having rings alters how he’s viewed. Still, CP3 remains a hard figure to digest partly because his prickly artistry has been overwhelmed by complaints.

Now 10 years into his pro career, it’s safe to consider Chris Paul one the 10 best point guards ever — he is, after all, a career 19-10 guy (with two steals per) and top five on both the career assists and thefts per game leaderboard. Yet his ticket to the Greatest Five club expires soon and once it does, the only way CP3 can guarantee entry to the prestigious lounge is to reach the Finals.

11. Mike Krzyzewski

In early 2015, all eyes were squarely fixed on John Calipari, the eventual Naismith Coach of Year, and his stacked Kentucky Wildcats. While JC’s crew attempted to chase down the perfect season, Duke University’s 68-year-old hardwood zealot Mike Krzyzewski became the first D1 Men’s coach to collect 1000 victories (following his Blue Devils’ win over St. John inside MSG). He squad might’ve started fourth on the Associated Press’s pre-season poll but when all was said and done, Duke won yet another NCAA tournament — this time by blowing out Michigan State (a surprise Final Four entrant) before narrowly beating Wisconsin, 68 – 63, inside Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.

Throughout the memorable run, Krzyzewski carefully prepared freshman pivot Jahill Okafor for college basketball’s main course (March Madness) and the delectable centerpiece was rewarded with an All-American selection. Coach K also served up the right amount of Tyus Jones and Justice Winslow, two perfectly portioned side dishes to complete one of the finest meals of his tenure.

In 2015, Coach K also joined the late, great John Wooden with the most Final Four appearances (12) in D1 tournament history. Now a five-time NCAA Champion (1991, ’92, ’01, ’10, ’15), Krzyzewski’s employers mightn’t be well liked but this tactician, trainer and timber tutor is rightfully revered. In 50 years from now, when we think back on who cut down the nets in 2015, it’ll be Krzyzewski’s gleaming smile and his Blue Devils’ (not-all-that) surprising triumph.

Had it of been Dennis Rodman who was found unconscious inside the Love Ranch, a brothel 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas in Crystal, Nevada, no one would’ve been all that surprised. Yet when news broke in October that former NBA Sixth Man of the Year recipient Lamar Odom was hospitalized, the story quickly turned into a global conversation piece. The Odom incident became a highly publicized story primarily because of its linkage to the so-called “reality” television monstrosity that is the Kardashians but aside from being custom made for supermarket checkout gossip rags, Odom’s epic fall from grace showed the frailty pro athletes can mask.

For anyone who enjoyed the southpaw’s style of play or his infectious, sincere personality, the Nevada event was a puzzling fixture, so much so that Lamar Odom became one of the most searched names in 2015. While a portion of that search engine traffic would’ve been housewives trying to find out more about the New York native hitting rock bottom, the fact that basketball was mentioned in almost every report meant publicity for the NBA. While the Association never chased more visibility, it didn’t stop the headline hogging Kardashians from turning one man’s (much needed) recovery into television ratings.

In an interesting wrinkle, James Harden — who was dating Lamar’s ex-wife Khloe (the two filed for divorce in 2013 after four years of marriage) at the time — himself went into a funk after showing up out of shape to the Rockets’ season in tow of their break-up. Granted SLAM is hardly the forum to worry about lifestyles of the rich and famous but in this instance, a former cover subject was one of the year’s most talked about topics, thus, once the commotion reached fever pitch it made sense to study what was on the other side of the wall. The findings? One man’s critical situation created a TMZ-style circus with every media outlet jumping on the Odom story because it was linked to the Kardashians. Thankfully, Lamar is rehabilitating his life but for a brief time in 2015, his name was everywhere.

Despite the fact he was only in year three, Anthony Davis was able to pace the NBA in blocks (2.9) and Player Efficiency Rating (30.8). Those averages in tandem with a host of other two-way performance measures saw the emerging star finish fifth in MVP voting. More so, Davis hit the shot – a double-pump triple at the buzzer over Kevin Durant that doubled as one of the year’s best game winners – that effectively gave New Orleans their first postseason appearance since he joined the pros, courtesy of the tiebreaker over Oklahoma City.

All that production and elite understanding of the game (combined with his freaky genetics) meant predicting Davis to be the 2015-16 NBA MVP would be met with little resistance. Experts, including SLAM (193), looked favorably on the recent past and expected their to be more of the same in the immediate future… and yet Davis finished 2015 on uneven footing, leaving many to raise an eyebrow on what was supposed to be one of the surest bets in the pros. Still, he’s ahead of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett after their respective third campaigns and it’s not insane to compare last season’s All-NBA First Teamer to a young Tim Duncan (given his defensive prowess and offensive ceiling).

Even though there are growing pains to be had and a suspect supporting cast in the Big Easy, Davis has been elevated by the NBA (and its legion of fans) because you never know what wonders his might display. There’s a good reason why the NBA gave his team a coveted Christmas Day 2015 spot: Davis may play in a smallish local television market but he’s part of Basketball’s promising future. That rationale is also why he’s now a major fixture on Nike basketball’s agenda and it’s why the taxation preparation firm H&R Block have signed Davis to be their spokesperson — plus, someone has to help him manage that five-year, $145 million extension, why not the financial experts?

As Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors, Don Nelson tried to implement small ball in the early-to-mid 90s with a Chris Webber-Billy Owens-Chris Mullin-Latrell Sprewell-Tim Hardaway line-up. The concept, which was novel at the time, didn’t get a chance to prove itself because Webber was traded following his rookie run. The strategy was again employed by Nelson when he took the gig in Dallas but the effectiveness of small ball wasn’t fully realized, in its creators image, until 2014-15. The mismatches created by playing the versatile Draymond Green in the middle, especially once his three-point form vastly improved, was good enough to help the Dubs ruin LeBron James’ quest to bring Cleveland a title parade.

For 25 years, basketball fans have seen various attempts to make small ball effective, and one could argue that the reason the 2013-14 Spurs extracted sugar sweet revenge on LeBron James’ Heat was due in large to Boris Diaw’s time at center. However, that (Gregg Popovich) property wasn’t nearly as much fun as Steve Kerr’s 2014-15 Warriors, thus Green’s defensive potency and willingness to do the dirty work helped to make Golden State as likeable as they are watchable.

Like Jackson Pollock, Green’s isn’t worried about perfecting the process, he’s more focused on the emotions stirred up by the outcome — but that doesn’t mean his compositions (on the court) haven’t caused many critics to concede his skillfulness. Once upon a time, it helped to be Catholic — in the broad-minded sense — when appreciating the beauty of Draymond’s artistry. Now? Well, he’s widely accepted as both the team’s spiritual leader and its cocksure kingpin. Conservative thinking has never been welcomed in the Bay Area and in 2015, the Green Beret played like the evolutionary Dennis Rodman (circa 1990) which became the perfect running mate to Steph Curry’s fearless sniper. (More on that in a bit.)

Bill Simmons (no relation) believes the Australian native is the surest college prospect since Kevin Durant in 2007. That’s some seriously high praise but given a survey of the 2016 mock drafts reveals one consensus: Simmons at No. 1. It’s no wonder people are buying up stock in the LSU freshman.

On the surface, adulation for Ben Simmons appears every bit the tantamount to “Pistol” Pete Maravich, Chris Jackson (now Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) and Shaquille O’Neal, all former Louisiana State University prospects turned top lottery picks who captured imaginations during their respective stints in Baton Rouge. Yet a deep dive on the kid suggests the skilled 6-10 forward could be everything Len Bias was supposed to be (if you replace Bias’ athleticism with playmaking)… and yet all that pro potential could go unfulfilled (think Derrick Coleman or Joe Smith). What happens tomorrow is unknown but what’s certain today is this: no other collegiate hooper has been as talked about in 2015 as young Ben.

Anytime a player is flagged “franchise saviour,” NBA fans immediate show interest in hopes their general manager will get lucky at the lottery. Adding to the intrigue is the fact LeBron has given permission for commentators to make early comparisons and so long as Simmons continues to stand tall under the intensifying spotlight, he’s well positioned to be for basketball what fellow countryman Liam Hemsworth is to the silver screen.

If NBA honors were handed out like Academy Awards, Russell Westbrook’s 2014-15 tour de force would’ve won him Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. While the other nominees — Anthony Davis, the year’s breakout star who’s capable of carrying an average feature film; LeBron James, perpetual favorite; Stephen Curry, a surprise lead of a box-office smash with never before seen acting range and James Harden, the year’s best villain — were all terrific, it was hard to argue against Russell’s scene stealing performance, especially because he turned a troubled script into a genuine NBA thriller.

More hurricane than human, Westbrook somehow turned the Thunder’s 3-12 start into a 45-37 finish. He not only paced the League in scoring in the process but ended his campaign ranked second in steals per, fourth in assists and first among guards in rebounding… but none of that mattered to him because OKC missed the postseason. Now that’s a hardwired competitor of the highest order.

Away from the timber, the fashion-forward Russ — he’s as likely to be seen gracing the cover of Esquire or GQ as often as he does SLAM — released his first Jordan Brand shoe (Westbrook 0), opting for a signature lifestyle release over yet another performance product. Allen Iverson labelled him a “certified killer” but the folks at Mountain Dew, Kings and Jaxs, L.V.M.H./Zenith watches, Subway and True Religion all hope he doesn’t do to their brands what he does to defenders. With a dapper style that’s straight from the gospel, according to Walt Frazier, Westbrook has become a lightening rod thanks to his fearless ways.

When thinking about the people who made the biggest impact on 2015, Russ ranks just outside the top five for one reason: his Tom Cruise-level dedication (pathologically competitive, driven by perfection) narrowly outweighs his Clint Eastwood coolness. Should that ever flip, there’s every chance Russ will be the NBA’s brightest star. But as of right now, he lives outside the final five because the names ahead of him either carry more cultural clout, have been granted greater governance by the general electorate or they’ve stolen the spotlight with a poetic revelation.

While the majority of bearded bad guys (from Russian Street Fighter Zangief to Globex Corporation owner Hank Scorpio) are fictional, James Harden’s basketball villainy is very real. After producing a memorable regular season, one in which No. 13 paced the NBA in Win Shares (16.4), total points scored (2,217) and minutes played (2,981), Harden helped H-Town complete one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history before being voted MVP by his peers at the inaugural Players’ Choice Awards.

Additionally, he dished out more assists than LeBron (565 to 511) and led all shooting guards with an average of 7.0 apg. – the only player from his starting position ranked inside the top ten. Yes, he also turned it over a lot (321) for a variety of reasons, some his fault, others not so, but Harden also stole possession back 154 times. Along with teammate Trevor Ariza (registering another 152 swipes), the pair helped to give Houston one of the stingiest perimeter tandems in the pros, even with his matador impersonations.

Thanks to his delicious 2015 showing, the Bearded wonder has joined an elite group of bad guys — Heavyweight boxer James “Clubber” Lang (Rocky III), Krypton warlord General Zod (Superman), Agrabah’s royal vizier Jafar (Aladdin), Istari leader Saruman the White (The Lord of the Rings), international terrorist Hans Gruber (Die Hard), Mongo tyrant Ming the Merciless (Flash Gordon), the grandiose “Macho Man” Randy Savage (WWE) and the most dastardly gamer of them all, Billy Mitchell (King of Kong) — and appears set to continue his wicked ways in 2016.

While he remains bad news for defenders, Harden is certainly good for business. It’s why adidas offered the creator and shot maker a $200 million deal. A self-styled standout, Harden’s alignment with the Triple Stripe places him alongside Kanye West, a move that’s sure to enrage some and delight others. If nothing else, Harden has carefully created an NBA persona that’s one of his generations most memorable.

His offseason might’ve included the release of an eighth signature sneaker in addition to welcoming both Neff and The Players’ Tribune to an endorsement portfolio that features 2K Sports, Kind, Nike, Sprint, Sparkling Ice, Sonic and Unilever but all anybody wanted to talk about was possible NBA destinations Kevin Durant could land in 2016. The former MVP grew tired of the chatter and eventually pushed back. Sick of the distortion, KD let the media know he’ll be stonewalling any questions on the subject until the time was right for him (because there’s a multitude of items that require his full attention prior to any free agency decisions).

In an age when it’s all about daily clicks, the Fourth Estate didn’t necessarily turn away from KD because of spite but his reluctance to dance their dance made it easier for editors to overlook the Thunder and overload on Golden State. While the Warriors have earned the extra coverage, the Thunder still have two of the five best players in the game and with Durant healthy, their collective confidence grows stronger by the day.

Additionally, Durant made it clear during training camp that he was done talking about his injured foot. As far as he was concerned, the all-clear from his team’s medical staff meant he was back to full strength (and it didn’t make sense to live in the past). Through 25 appearances, Durant is averaging 27-8-5 — on 52-42-89 shooting splits — with a block and steal per in 36 minutes of action. Those are some impressive numbers and suggest that KD is all the way back– only fewer folks are talking about Kevin Durant now that Curry is on a crusade. But that’s okay with KD, he’s paid to play, not provide content.

While Paul George’s return to the Indiana Pacers was just as important as Durant’s, his Eastern Conference counterpart isn’t nearly as popular (KD now has roughly 13 million Twitter followers, Paul George just 1.4 million), as revered by their peers (LeBron and Kobe both believe KD is otherworldly) or under the same microscope given the coaching situation or the uncertainty circling his future. Once the most talked about NBA player, the Durant allure has subsided temporarily because of his sullenness combined with refocused efforts on all things Steph but again, Durant is gunning for the one prize he covets over all others: a championship… and he knows from experience, the media is whatever you make of it and right now he’s keeping his distance but that has made him more fascinating than ever.

Before riding off into the Californian sunset, Kobe Bryant will embark on a season long retirement tour despite not wanting to ever make a fuss about his departure from the game. A cultural icon that will go down as one of the most popular, polarizing and proficient point producers to ever step into the NBA arena, Kobe’s a Hall of Fame lock who was much more than a bridge between Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

While Kobe’s game has devolved of late — his play in the opening portion of the 2015-16 season resembled Arnold Schwarzenegger’s sad attempt to once again travel back in time via the godawful Terminator: Genesys — he’s managed to regain some form, an interesting addition to his resume given he hasn’t played much basketball over the past couple of years. Thanks to a personally penned poem that was first published on The Players’ Tribune, a digital platform that Kobe partly owns, the Black Mamba conceded that he’s a superstar player who refuses to go quietly even though his body broke up with basketball long before his heart ever will. Still, as tribute for all he has done (and means) to the NBA over the past 20 years, Kobe will be granted one final All-Star spot and possibly an Olympic team berth too (in 2016).

There’ll be no classic Hollywood ending for the NBA’s top individual earner ($25,000,000 this season), only a slow, sad march towards the retirement home but before he goes, the ruthless leviathan will travel the land and soak up the NBA experience in a way that he has never allowed himself to before: as living legend.

When LeBron James decided it was time to return to Ohio, everyone expected there to be chemistry issues, teething pains (with Head Coach David Blatt’s system) and somewhat modest year one objectives. Once their deficiencies were addressed by GM David Griffin, LeBron’s cerebral stratum took care of bringing the Cavaliers up to speed, which meant they could jump head first into the 2015 postseason pool.

Playoff injuries to both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving soured the summer fun but it wasn’t until Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes started circling LeBron that everyone got that sinking feeling. Forced to swallow his fourth career Finals loss (from six appearances) LeBron was so valiant in defeat that his showing actually added to his legacy — it also didn’t hurt that his one-man army act resulted in averages of 35.8 ppg, 13.3 rpg and 8.8 apg during what turned out to be his fifth consecutive trophy round invitation.

For the year, Forbes had the King as the sixth highest earner — $65 million — and the N.B.A.’s top pitchman (when combining athlete salary with endorsement offerings). Then seemingly out of nowhere, James signed a new lifetime deal with Nike, the first such deal of its kind in the Swoosh’s storied history. While figures weren’t disclosed, the partnership could be worth as much as $1 billion given the power of LeBron, the success of his signature sneaker line over recent years, his cache in pop-culture, the value/structure of Kevin Durant’s recent deal and his philanthropic desires. Basketball remains Nike’s most successful division and after Steph Curry slipped through their fingers, one can safely assume the decision makers in Beaverton were keen to have LeBron on side for life… and given how fruitful their arrangement with Michael Jordan continues to be, you can bet King James wants to build an empire all his own, one that’s all about the kid from Akron.

The fact that Steph Curry, not Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis or any other preordained talent, managed to created a movement that disrupted everyone’s hopes, plans and preferences (while fending off every challenger) is as impressive as it is inconceivable.

In 2015, Dell’s son didn’t just trump the likes of LeBron James on multiple fronts (2015 Finals, most popular), he showed the history books/conventional wisdom that a jump shooting team can claim the title (so long as their powered by a pair of marksmen that reside on the Steve Nash and Ray Allen end of the spectrum).

Just the fourth basketball player — following Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and LeBron James — to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, Steph was recognized by the news organization editors and directors because of the way he elevated the expectations for all future perimeter players whenever efficiency or long distance production is evaluated.

As Jalen Rose recently noted how “the best player in the NBA usually is also physically opposing” but with Steph “we see him on a national stage be a son, a dad, a husband, a father, a brother.” That softening, harmful to any athlete who builds a name solely on their masculinity, has made Curry more endearing — a relatable David who contrasts the NBA’s vast collection of Goliath’s. But it’s a lie. Curry didn’t reach the pinnacle of his sport by remaining normal and yet, it’s because of his size (6-3) and that reliance on a seemingly obtainable skill-set that Curry has connected with fans in a way that most never even dream possible. As a result, demand for his pre-game warm-up routine has changed NBA arena policy while his traveling band of ballers has garnered record television ratings. He plays golf with the (44th) President, has the best selling jersey in multiple countries, and best of all, Curry is now lending his name/time to advocacy.

Prior to 2015, Curry had a lone All-Star appearance and Playoff series win next to his name. Then rookie coach Steve Kerr set him free. Not only did Curry collect the most All-Star votes while guiding the Warriors to the 10th best regular season record ever (67 wins), he was catalyst for the franchise’s first title in 40 years. Along the way, he won over hearts and minds leaving the media with no other choice but to reward Steph with the 2015 MVP trophy. That made him just the sixth Point Guard, following Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Earvin Johnson, Steve Nash and Derrick Rose, to receive the decoration.

And yet, Curry did it all on a below-market contract extension. To his credit, he never complained. While Steph may currently be the NBA’s 60th (!) highest earner — collecting less than Enes Kanter ($16,407,500), Roy Hibbert ($15,592,216) and DeMarre Carroll ($13,600,000), among others — his popularity has seen a range of brands come calling. From 2KGames to ESPN; from Muscle Milk to Sony; from Unilever to Under Armour, Curry has quickly become one of the most bankable names in sport. It’s why in mid-2015 UA trademarked the saying “Slay Your Next Giant” shortly before they extend Curry’s contract until 2024.

He’s far from done but what Curry accomplished in 2015 makes him the Ultimate Warrior.

—

Brad Graham is a freelance graphic designer/basketball writer who moonlights as the co-host of the Full Court Report podcast (new episodes every Monday and Thursday). Follow him on Twitter: @BackpackBaller. Images via Getty.

With the holiday season in full swing, check out this brand new commercial featuring all the goodies the NBA Store has in stock this year. Watch a few players review some of the products and find out why Jimmy Butler keeps his sock monkey on deck.

The CBA, which resulted in a shortened 2011-12 season, expires in 2021.

Per the AP:

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, and representatives of their staffs took part in the meeting, according to a joint release. The sides said it was a preliminary meeting that included “constructive dialogue” and they agreed to continue their discussions.

Also participating were representatives of the NBA labor relations committee and NBPA executive committee.

With salaries skyrocketing and loads of money coming into the system next season with the new national TV deals that are worth more than $2.6 billion annually, there has been hope that a work stoppage could be avoided. Silver said recently the league’s relationship with the players was strong, and he was optimistic because things were going well for the teams and players.

Mary J. Blige, Young Thug, Maxwell and Raphael Saadiq will be some of the celebrities on-hand in Johannesburg, South Africa at TicketPro Dome on December 12 for the inaugural BET Experience Africa.

The day starts with with a celebrity basketball game featuring former All-Star and 1992 NBA Dunk Champ Cedric Ceballos and an NBA Dunk Team. Several South African musicians and entertainers will also play in the game.

Then the day will culminate with Mary J. and company performing. Tickets are on sale now.

From the NBA’s press release:

“Basketball is a skillful, entertaining and totally inspirational game that is loved and played by millions of people around the world,” said Viacom International Media Networks Africa’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Alex Okosi.

“The first BET Experience Africa is a great platform for the NBA and Ford to showcase the game of basketball and its global appeal by engaging with some of the most talented South African celebrities,” said NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall. “It has been a tremendous year for the NBA in Africa, and we hope that this celebrity game will further inspire people in South Africa to play and follow our sport.”

As you can see here on SLAM and probably some other sites in our business, adidas and the NBA have made the official uniforms and apparel for the 65th NBA All-Star Game, which will be held in Toronto this coming February, public.

Thanks to the kindness of our longtime friends at adidas, we were afforded the chance to see, hold and further learn about said uniforms and apparel at an exclusive availability yesterday in the game’s host city.

Few, if any, All-Star Games have afforded as many different storylines that can influence the look and feel of a weekend. Amongst other angles, this year’s:

-Is the first All-Star Game outside the US -Comes at a time when more and more international players—particularly Canadians—are playing in the NBA -Is held in the city that hosted the first-ever NBA Game (Huskies, baby) -Is held not far from where the inventor of basketball, James Naismith was born -Is being held in one of the hippest, hottest cities on the planet -Is where adidas endorsees like Tracy McGrady and Andrew Wiggins came to prominence -Is being held in a city that heretofore was better known as a hockey stronghold, home of the storied Maple Leafs and the Hockey Hall of Fame -Is being hosted by an up-and-coming NBA franchise that boasts some of the most intense fans in the League

The expert we got to speak with about these uniforms is David Cho, NBA Partnership Director, adidas Basketball Marketing. You can rest assured that Cho—who manages elements of adidas’ 11-year global partnership with the NBA, from on-court uniforms and outfitting, to the US and international retail licensed businesses, as well as all event and sponsorship activities with the league—is WELL aware of every angle listed above. Does that mean he and his design team tried to incorporate all of them onto the apparel (keep in mind that this year’s uniforms also have a small KIA logo on them)? Read and learn.

SLAM: Can you give us an overview of this new All-Star uniform we’re seeing for the first time?

David Cho: What we wanted to do was capture the cosmopolitan energy of Toronto, and tell the story of basketball and the NBA in this city, as well as to the Raptors and their recent history of success. The front has a very subtle Maple Leaf, created through the dots and the fabric on the bottom. We wanted to incorporate Canada’s national symbol on the jersey, but not in an overly obvious way on the front. Most people will probably miss it. We also always try to incorporate an element of the host city, not just the host team. So for Toronto we did a color-contrast cityscape. You can recognize the CN Tower and the rest of the skyline.

We always want to tell an evolving story around the NBA All-Star logo history. This year the star is combined with the Maple Leaf in a multi-layered pattern.

Getting to the history of basketball here, this is one of the simplest single-layer fonts you’ll ever see on an NBA uniform. The story here is that the very first NBA game was held here in Toronto in 1946. Toronto Huskies vs. New York Knickerbockers. The Huskies uniform, and really all of the uniforms in that age, were simple. We wanted an element of the design to speak to that fact, of the very first NBA game being played in Toronto.

To incorporate the Raptors, we used the jock tags, making them in the black-and-gold that you see in their new alternate jersey, as well as a version of their claw logo. This is on all the jerseys, and also on the outside of the shooting shirts as well, which will be more visible since the tag on the uniform will be tucked in when the players are on the court.

The last element of the uniform that we want to highlight goes beyond it being in Toronto, Canada. With the global popularity of the game and the NBA, we wanted to highlight that there are so many international players playing in the League. So what we did was deconstruct the colors of the flags of all the countries that international players have represented in the All-Star Game to create this multi-colored pattern that you’ll find only on the inside of the jersey on the neck and the drawstring on the shorts. So we go from basketball, NBA All-Star, Toronto, Canada, to global game, all in what seems like a pretty simple design. Simple and timeless, clean and classy, but highlighting all those stories.

SLAM: Was this a fun process to have so many extra stories that you don’t have in a typical All-Star venue.

DC: Yes, specifically trying to tell the stories of Canada, and the new Raptors identity which was changing as we went through the process, and this homage to all the players who are All-Stars not from the US.

SLAM: Did adidas work with the Raptors on their new look?

DC: We were not. They worked on that themselves and we’re merely the outfitter that produced it. And for the All-Star jersey we work exclusively with the League, even while incorporating various Toronto Raptors elements.

SLAM: Besides showing respect to the host team, you also want to include their logo for the local fans’ benefit, right?

DC: Yes. They are the host. Toronto is the city, but it’s the team that is really hosting All-Star, so we want to acknowledge the host team. Some years there have been larger examples of host city executions, but I like where we are now is a great balance.

SLAM: And on the history front, are you referring just to the NBA and the Huskies, or also the fact that James Naismith was born not far from here?

DC: It’s both. The font really comes from the Huskies, but Naismith’s is a story we’re all going to hear a lot of. He was born here, he invented the game 125 years ago, all of that. So we’re aware of it, but there is no specific Naismith reference on the jersey.

SLAM: And how about the fact that this All-Star Game will be played in a city and country that is so known, historically, for another sport—hockey? Did that play into things at all?

DC: There wasn’t. There was a design direction that could have gone down that route, but I think an overt Maple Leaf on the front, too many ties to the Maple Leafs and hockey, we didn’t want to do because there are so many legitimate ties to basketball in Canada that we wanted to focus on.

SLAM: Can you talk about some of the apparel that goes along with the uniforms?

DC: Yes. So we made the jackets as well. Heather-gray with black, the name, and a style that definitely looks more like a winter jacket. That was the design inspiration. The weight is about the same as a jacket typically worn on an NBA court, but the fabric and look is absolutely drawn from the colder climate here and the fashion of outdoor, winter clothing. We just brought it inside. And we carried over the nameplates and the military style accomplishments on the sleeve.

SLAM: This is a pretty unique look for a basketball jacket. Can you think of anything else like this?

DC: I can’t, and I think that’s what is going to draw so much attention to this jacket. It’s going to be absolutely functional as an outside jacket. Fashion influences everything we do, but you can really dial it up on a jacket.

Socks and slides go together like Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant; and like the Thunder duo, they are rapidly growing in style and popularity. It’s time to join the movement.

With another NBA season in motion, ISlide has got you covered. The goal: take the socks-and-slides combo to the next level. The method: visit ISlideUSA.com to customize your own pair of NBA slides to match your favorite pair of socks. You can even save 10 percent off your order if you use the code “Slam10”!

Check out the photos above to see the classic combination in action. To learn more, follow ISlide on Instagram (@ISlideUSA), Twitter, and Facebook.

Larry Nance Sr. won the NBA’s first dunk contest. He beat out Julius Erving. Watch the video above to see, among others, Larry Nance Jr. make his father proud by catching a vicious body and the other best dunks from the NBA’s season before the season.

In a new commercial spot leading up to the 2015-16 season, the NBA answers the question, “Why do we play?” in an incredible way. Watch the video up top of clips from basketball courts near and far that highlight the ways in which the game affects lives around the world.

More details from the NBA:

“This Is Why We Play” captures the emotions behind basketball’s universal appeal, showcasing stories of what motivates, inspires and excites teams, players and fans both on and off the court. The first video, “Anthem,”…highlights the game’s historical milestones and reverberating cultural impact, and demonstrates many ways teams, players and fans are deeply connected to basketball and the values it teaches (leadership, teamwork, respect, dedication, etc.). The NBA season tips off on Oct 27.

Watch the video above for some genuinely funny video bombs from the ’14-15 campaign. Featured is Robin Lopez getting into another battle with another mascot, Klay Thompson’s professionalism on full display and you can see Blake Griffin and JJ Redick being foolish, too.

Those incredible connections deserved their own dedicated mixtape. Check out the top alleys and the top oops of 2014-2015 above, courtesy of the NBA. The clip even features Dirk Nowitzki and a New York Knick…not joking.

As part of the modifications, the eight playoff teams in each conference will be seeded in order of their regular-season record. Most recently, every division winner was guaranteed a top four seed in its respective conference regardless of its record but did not receive home-court advantage if its playoff opponent had a better record.

The Board also approved changes to tiebreak criteria for playoff seeding and home-court advantage. Head-to-head results have become the first criterion to break ties for playoff seeding and home-court advantage between two teams with identical regular-season records; the second criterion is whether a team won its division. Under the old tiebreak system, a division winner was awarded the higher seed and received home-court advantage in a series if the two teams met in the playoffs.

The NBA’s Competition Committee unanimously recommended each of these changes prior to the Board of Governors vote.

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today the list of Hall of Famers who will present this year’s class at the 2015 Enshrinement Ceremony, presented by Nike. The special event will be held Friday, September 11th at Springfield Symphony Hall.

Members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2015 were asked to select a previous inductee to accompany and present them to their peers. The choice is solely the decision of the incoming Hall of Famer.

For more information on Enshrinement Tickets, please call the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Ticket Office at (413) 231-5540. Tickets are available for multiple events throughout the weekend at varying price points.

The Golden State Warriors were NBA Champions in 2015, but there was a long and entertaining regular season before that, too, and an even more entertaining 2015 Playoffs. Relive the 100 best plays of the 2014-15 season in the video above from our friends at the NBA—set up in chronological order. What’s the best play? ?Anything missing? Let us know in the comments section.

Everybody wants in on the gigantic music festival Lollapalooza in Chicago, even the NBA. The League’s apparel partner, Mitchell and Ness, created a line of dope NBA Lollapalooza-themed caps, which will be featured at the Mitchell and Ness lounge at the festival. The sold-out event kicks off today and runs through the weekend, with performances from notable artists like Paul McCartney, Sam Smith, A$AP Rocky and more.

Check out the pictures above to see some of the new styles—you’ll need to have access to the artist lounge to grab your own at the festival, but you can snag one online here.

UPDATE: Clippers guard JJ Redick was spotted rocking one of the hats over the weekend:

It’s official: Starting in 2017, Nike will be the official on-court uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League. After much speculation, the brand announced the new 8-year partnership with the NBA today.

Nike will become the first League partner to have its logo appear on team uniforms. More details, straight from Nike x the NBA:

NEW YORK, June 10, 2015 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and NIKE, Inc. (NIKE) announced today an eight-year global merchandising and marketing partnership that will make NIKE the official oncourt apparel provider beginning with the 2017-18 NBA season.

“This partnership with NIKE represents a new paradigm in the structure of our global merchandising business,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “As our exclusive oncourt apparel provider, NIKE will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and oncourt products.”

NIKE has a rich history of innovating and leading from the front, and has supported some of the greatest former and current NBA and WNBA players. The company has been a global marketing partner of the NBA since 1992 and expands its rights over eight years under the new agreement, where NIKE will become the first NBA apparel partner to have its logo appear on NBA uniforms. NIKE will also have the global rights to design and manufacture authentic and Swingman jerseys as well as oncourt warm-ups and shooting shirts.

“We’re excited to bring the full power of our global reach, innovation and creativity to partner with the NBA and grow the game in a way only NIKE can,” said NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker. “In NIKE, Jordan and Converse we have three of the most connected brands in the world, and look forward to making the global growth of the game a successful strategy for both the NBA and NIKE.”

A marketing partner of the WNBA since its inception in 1997, NIKE will now have an expanded presence at WNBA All-Star and other events throughout the season. Also, for the first time, NIKE will become a marketing partner of the NBA Development League (NBA D-League), engaging in seasonlong marketing activities with a major presence during the NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA D-League Showcase presented by Samsung.

In addition, the partnership will activate around several NBA events such as NBA All-Star, NBA Global Games, NBA Draft presented by State Farm, Samsung NBA Summer League and NBA 3X. NIKE will remain the official partner and apparel provider of Basketball without Borders.

NIKE has served as the footwear and exclusive apparel provider of USA Basketball since 2006.

The NBA Finals begin tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. Prior to tip-off, 10-year-old Nayah Damasen will perform the national anthem. The young singing sensation is considered a Warriors’ good luck charm, and has already graced the court at past playoff games. Golden State is hopeful that her luck will not run out tonight. Check out her skills in the video above. Maybe Nayah and Riley Curry can get their own reality show?

During SLAM 189 cover subject Andrew Wiggins‘ visit to Portland and adidas Village recently, the Rookie of the Year tested out his kicks for next season and met with team adidas, creating a few new Timberwolves fans along the way. Check out the pictures above.

As the NBA Finals get ready to jump off this evening, LeBron James will look to follow in his son’s footsteps. We know that sounds a little bit backwards, but if it’s any indication of what may happen over the next two weeks, the James family seems to have championships coming to them in the month of June.

At The League‘s latest stop in Dallas, it was LeBron James Jr. who paced his Gulf Coast Blue Chips squad to the 11U ‘chip. The final stop of The League’s regular season, word traveled fast at the Hype Sports Summer Jam and fans completely filled out the bleachers to get a glimpse of young Bronny. Owning the ridiculous court vision of his Pops, he routinely threw one hand bullets off the dribble and no-looks for exciting assists. He made some deep three pointers, saw over the top of the D, and used his athleticism to create countless turnovers in the Blue Chips’ deadly press. However, he wasn’t doing this alone.

Like LeBron Sr.’s Miami Heat championship teams, this wasn’t just a one man show. People familiar with the middle school basketball scene tell SLAMonline that Khoi Thurmon, Paul Dual, Wesley Yates III, and Zyon Little all made major contributions during the title run. In fact, head coach Alex Franklin went 11 deep with every guy playing substantial minutes on the weekend. Still, it was 10-year-old Bronny who stole the show by adding another title to the James family mantle.

Only five months after President Barack Obama ordered diplomatic relations between American and Cuba to be restored, the NBA announced they are going to be the first pro sports league to host an event in Cuba.The league will hold a four-day development camp and host clinics for kids from April 23-26. Recently retired two-time MVP Steve Nash, newly elected Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, and former WNBA star Ticha Penicheiro will take part, among others.

Although there are no Cuban players in the NBA today, the island does have a surprisingly strong basketball culture. The Cuban men’s national team has played in six Olympics and took the bronze medal in 1972.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced today that they will host their first joint basketball development camp in Havana, Cuba April 23-26.

Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo, and WNBA Legend Ticha Penicheiro will lead the four-day camp with the Cuban Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and community outreach projects in association with the Cuban sports ministry, INDER, and the Cuban Basketball Federation (CBF).

For the first time, the NBA and FIBA will invite two players and one coach from Cuba to participate in the upcoming Basketball without Borders camp.

“This is a great day for Cuban basketball and our federation,” said CBF President Ruperto Herrera. “To have both the NBA and FIBA collaborate on youth instruction and the development of the game in our country is magnificent. We thank the Republic of Cuba and INDER for opening the doors for these basketball camps that will end up benefiting the future of national and international basketball.”

“We’ve seen the bridges that basketball can build between cultures,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum. “We look forward to sharing the values of our game with Cuban youth and learning together through the common language of sports.”

“In the continued effort to strengthen our national federations, it is extremely gratifying to see Cuba serve as the center of a development camp of this magnitude,” said FIBA President Horacio Muratore. “This is a country that loves basketball and we are proud to work together with the NBA on this historic venture.”

Through NBA Cares, the league’s global social responsibility program, the NBA and FIBA will refurbish three basketball courts and host youth basketball clinics at two Havana locations. Tatum will join the legends and local officials to participate in the court dedication ceremonies focused on encouraging healthy, active lifestyles and teaching the values of the game such as teamwork, respect and dedication.

Orlando Magic Head Coach James Borrego, Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz Assistant Coach Brad Jones, USA Basketball Youth Development Coach Don Showalter, and Director of Basketball Academy of the Americas Victor Ojeda will participate in training camp efforts for the Cuban Men’s and Women’s National Teams at the senior (18+) and junior levels. Additionally, the coaches will be joined by Washington Wizards Vice President of Basketball Administration Tommy Sheppard, New York Knicks Associate Athletic Trainer Anthony Goenaga, and FIBA Americas Referee Geraldo Fontana to host workshops for coaches, trainers, and other sports professionals.

The current TV deal brings in about $930 million – Disney, through ABC and ESPN, forks over $485 million per year, while Turner pays the NBA $445 million annually to broadcast games on TNT. With the League thriving based on just about every reasonable metric, they’re reportedly looking to double up in the next round of negotiations for TV rights fees. (By comparison, the NFL inked a nine-year $27 billion deal for its television rights back in 2011.) Per the WSJ:

That could mean $15 billion in rights fees assuming an eight-year deal starting in 2016. Right now that’s looking like money well spent (though let’s hope LeBron never gets hurt or decides to play baseball for a while).

Interestingly, Turner is seeking to televise several games of the NBA Finals–right now these games are only on Disney’s ABC. While that is the way sports is headed (the inaugural College Football Playoff will be on ESPN next January, for example), the NBA Finals, like the World Series and The Super Bowl, would stand to lose a level of ‘big dealness’ were they not on a national broadcast network.

If you’re not familiar with the wildly lucrative TV deal Ozzie and Daniel Silna, owners of the ABA franchise known as the Spirits of St. Louis, struck with the NBA in 1976, you should bone up on the insane tale. The League is once again trying to wiggle itself out of the deal. Per ESPN: “When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Silnas agreed to dissolve their team in exchange for a small percentage of the NBA’s future broadcast revenue. At the time, it seemed like an irrelevant concession by the league. But it’s become a financial windfall for the Silnas. They receive 1/7 of the television revenues of the four ABA teams that were absorbed: the Spurs, Nuggets, Nets and Pacers. The NBA currently has $7.4 billion in TV contracts with ABC/ESPN and TNT. The kicker in the Silnas’ deal is that it goes on in perpetuity. Last season, the Silnas, who bought the Carolina Cougars for $1 million in 1973 before moving the club to St. Louis, received a reported $19 million from the NBA. Since the deal was reached in 1976, the league has paid the Silnas $300 million in TV royalties. Recently, a judge ruled that the brothers also have rights to Internet revenue. Because the Silnas’ cut diminishes the dividends of the NBA’s 30 team owners, the league has long sought to settle the contract.”

The NBA is very important (and lucrative) to ESPN. President John Skipper says the media giant will do all it can to keep its broadcast rights once the current deal expires following the 2015-’16 season. Per Sports Business Daily: “ESPN President John Skipper said the net is intent on remaining a broadcast partner with the NBA and he expects ‘to be aggressive in doing that.’ Skipper said during ESPN’s Media Day Wednesday, ‘There are plenty of live sports rights, but the ones that make a difference are scarce.’ He called the NBA a ‘critical product’ for ESPN and added there are ‘not many things that move the needle like that.’ The net’s current rights deal expires after the ’15-16 season, and there have been rumors Fox will make a heavy play for the NBA to add content to the new FS1. Skipper addressed speculation that web-based platforms are increasingly competing for major sports rights, saying, ‘It is incomprehensible to me that the NBA would decide to put their games on a digital platform, and that sports fans are going to make a transformation, saying, ‘I’m going to go to Yahoo to watch my games tonight.’ I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t think they have any way to monetize those rights in the same way that traditional (networks can).'”

The NBA announced on Monday that it has partnered with Ticketmaster to create the first sports ticketing website that will list tickets sold by both teams and fans. Fans will now be able to purchase, and sell, tickets to NBA games in one location, and won’t need to scour through secondary ticketing sites like StubHub. The five-year partnership could be a revolutionary advancement in the way sports fans purchase tickets. More details, via Forbes.com: “The NBA’s new Ticketmaster ticketing website, which is expected to launch in October 2012, will allow fans to view all tickets for sale for a given NBA game. This means that fans will be able to compare prices for tickets sold by teams themselves, as well as tickets being re-sold by others on the secondary market. According to Chris Granger, the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Team Marketing and Business Operations, the NBA will be the only major sports league to offer this type of ticketing platform to its fans. ‘This will be revolutionary in its approach. This will be the first time in ticketing history, where the primary ticketing inventory will be presented right next to the secondary inventory,’ Granger said. The NBA has been working on this ticketing platform idea for nearly two years. The league ultimately chose Ticketmaster as the entity to provide the service based upon consideration of several factors. First, Ticketmaster was able to provide the NBA not only with the ability to sell primary and secondary tickets in one location, but also with state-of-the-art access to data and analytics. Ticketmaster’s live analytics software will allow the NBA to adjust the price of its tickets in real-time, depending upon supply and demand factors. Additionally, the NBA believes that Ticketmaster’s analytics software will allow it to determine such things as which fans are most likely to buy season tickets and which fans may not renew their season tickets. ‘We’re going to get a lot smarter about who are fans are and what they want,’ Granger noted.”

On paper, they could have been the ’72 Soviets, ’04 Argentinians or ’06 Greeks.

Heading into the 1984 Olympics, the Italians’ talented, deep national team looked primed to invade Los Angeles and topple the host Americans in one of the biggest upsets in sports history.

These aerial Azzurri had already proven themselves giant killers by beating the Soviets in the previous Moscow Games. Since then, the U.S.S.R. had knocked off the U.S. in the World Championship tournament. Italy excelled at half-court or uptempo sets, and was much more experienced than the collegiate American squad, which featured North Carolina’s Michael Jordan, Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing and the first two Razorbacks selected for an Olympic basketball team: Joe Kleine and Alvin Robertson.

“American talent is the best in the world,” an editor of a popular Italian basketball weekly told Sports Illustrated in July 1984. “But their players are 20 years old against men who’ve played 80 games each year for 10 years. The U.S. player has taken maybe 5,000 shots in games in his life. The others have taken maybe 50,000.”

It appeared the world was catching up. And not just archnemesis U.S.S.R, which had beaten the U.S. for gold medals in ’72 and ’82. Puerto Rico, for instance, came within a point of upsetting the U.S. in a fast-paced early round game of the ’76 Olympics.

Some Americans pointed out the Olympic policy of pitting collegians against foreign pro players [deceptively listed as civil servants to technically qualify as amateurs] actually played in the youngins’ favor. The Americans only had one chance to play for gold, whereas these grizzled, chain-smoking Eurovets sometimes got four, even five shots. All those return trips could sap enthusiasm, the theory went, producing a mellow Miroslav here, a jaded Jonas there. Not so for the American college players who understood the rarity of moment, wrote Sports Illustrated‘s Alexander Wolff: “It’s their only opportunity to play together before going their separate ways to seek pro fortunes. They generate an enthusiasm, an authentic Olympic spirit.”

It also helped that the players brimmed with confidence. While coach Bobby Knight and staff actually paid attention to opponents’ names, their players didn’t. “And the arrogance of us in America, we thought we were the only ones who played basketball,” Kleine recalls with a laugh.

Ultimately, homecourt advantage, Knight’s coaching and transcendent talents like Jordan proved too much. The Americans steamrolled to gold in 1984, not even stopping to play Italy, which lost in the quarterfinals to Canada.

At the same time, the writing was already on the gym wall.

Insiders knew even then the world was catching up. Moreover, one European—a pro coach named Boris Stankovic—had already been working since the 1970s to include NBA players in the Olympics. These two trends came to a head in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when the Soviets beat the U.S. yet again, this time leaving bronze medals hanging from the downcast necks of collegians like David Robinson, Danny Manning and Dan Majerle. The nation’s pride was deeply wounded. “Anytime we lose it gets America’s attention,” says Kleine, an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “When we win in basketball, it’s business as usual but when we lose … that’s when it’s like, ‘How could they lose? Americans don’t lose in basketball.'”

Thus began the Dream Team era, which may end next week.

***

The first Dream Team, of course, got the ball rolling 20 years ago with a tour de force in Spain that stands as one of team sports’ most celebrated runs. It wasn’t merely the 40- and 50-point bludgeonings, however, that to this day thread the first pro American Olympians’ legacy through song lyrics, movie references and video game covers. It’s the way the squad’s combined on-court ability and off-court charisma won new legions of basketball fans, and ultimately NBA consumers, overseas. Headliners Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen had already shone plenty as individual stars; together, they produced wattage brighter than a Barcelona nightscape.

“It was absolute madness,” says Kleine, who played with Jordan and Pippen on the 1997-98 Bulls. He recalls tales of fans “outside the hotel all day and night. Three or four people deep, behind the barricades, just wanting to get a glimpse of them so bad. They had that kind of rock star, Beatles kind of thing going.”

Pau and Marc Gasol, then children, would have been among the local Spaniards transfixed by the Dream Teamers’ astounding athleticism and flashy play. These brothers, along with fellow non-American NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, have all said the Dream Team inspired them as young players. Now the Gasols are a major reason Spain is expected to challenge the U.S. for gold in the Olympic basketball tournament that began July 29.

To win, Spain has the unenviable task of beating a U.S. team loaded with experienced superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. It won’t be easy, but the Spanish have a much better chance than any of the original Dream Team’s opponents. Just as other nations closed the gap on American collegians before 1988, so have international players closed the gap on American NBAers since 1992. This was never more apparent than in 2002-2006, when the U.S. failed to finish higher than third place in two World Championships and the ’04 Athens Olympics.

Just like after 1988, the American powers-that-be righted the ship. This time, it wasn’t a matter of importing better players from the NBA for a single summer. Instead, it was more about strategically selecting from already available players, then convincing them to commit to a few summers for the sake of program continuity, all under the aegis of a long-term coaching staff.

Overall, this strategy has worked. The senior U.S. men’s team hasn’t lost a tournament since 2006. Its mega-millionaire players don’t grumble much about receiving relative pittances for their national team play. They say appropriate, patriotic things about playing for national pride and not taking the opportunity for granted. The last few years, in fact, it seemed USA Basketball had pretty much nailed this whole obliterate-the-rest-of-the-world-with-a-marketable-smile-on-your-face thing. The whole enterprise seemed to hum on all cylinders.

Then NBA Commissioner David Stern had to open his big mouth.

***

Before getting into why Kobe called what came out of Stern’s mouth “stupid,” let me first say this: America has never had a more cosmopolitan commish. The first time my Turkish father ran into Stern, he was shopping in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Stern gave my rug salesman father his business card and, hearing about my NBA interest, told him to get in touch. A few nights later, in an Istanbul arena, we did, wending our way through a courtside security detail during halftime of the first game pitting an NBA and Turkish pro team.

Broadly smiling, Stern emerged from the bowels of Abdi Ipekci arena, shook my hand and before long was asking about the language classes I’d been taking. He even wanted me to throw a few Turkish expressions his way.

In all his travels, Stern keeps noticing one thing in a never-ending quest to make basketball the world’s biggest sport: It’s not yet the biggest sport. Not by a long shot, actually. But Stern’s smart, and he realizes the world’s biggest soccer leagues and organizations have developed business tactics that could also benefit the NBA. In the same way the NBA accelerated the global popularization of basketball by exporting players, coaches and merchandise, so does Stern want to import soccer business strategies to further spread his league’s influence while padding its bottom line.

As inevitable as a Ginobili Euro step or Nowitzki one-footed fadeaway, this process has already begun.

It started in January when the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) changed the name of the World Championship to FIBA World Cup. That name squares nicely with other premier international tournaments: the Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup and, of course, the cash cow mother of them all, the FIFA World Cup. The NBA got into the act two weeks ago by announcing it would allow advertisement patches on jerseys starting in fall 2013. Such a change could drop as much as $100 million into league coffers.

In this context, then, it shouldn’t surprise that Stern wants to copy soccer yet again. He has proposed limiting future senior Olympic men’s basketball teams primarily to players no older than 23 years old. That’s the rule in Olympic soccer, where 23-and-under teams compete with up to three exceptions for older players. Which means, most likely, this would be the last Olympics for the likes of LeBron James, Chris Paul and even first-timers like Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Why the proposed change? Not surprisingly, money. For one, NBA team owners profit from healthy superstars. They fear season-ending injuries during Olympic games or practices. But this happens in offseason workouts and pickup games, too. More importantly, the status quo has the International Olympic Committee, not the owners, controlling the Games’ financial spigot. The owners “don’t get money from the Olympics, so the Olympics isn’t a big deal to them,” Kleine says.

If the 12-team Olympics were no longer the world’s premier basketball tournament, as is the case in soccer, then the NBA could better capitalize on the fame of its best assets. And so, Stern wants to amp up the prestige of the FIBA World Cup by making it the one tournament open to all NBA superstars. It’s likely the FIBA World Cup, already at 24 teams, would expand to an even more lucrative 32 teams, according to SheridanHoops.com. Stern and FIBA chief Patrick Baumann will discuss this development after the Olympics. Expect the NBA to strike an agreement with FIBA providing itself with a healthy revenue stream.

By and large, players seem to despise any attempts to downgrade the Olympics. “It’s a stupid idea,” Bryant told reporters in mid July. “It should be a [player’s] choice.”

Expect foreign players to hate this idea even more. Think about it: Americans, even in an under-23 Olympics world, should still win most gold medals. Not so for international players who will likely end Olympic careers on a frustrating, losing note.

Will Neighbour, a standout basketball player for UALR, assumed he’d have multiple shots to make the senior British national team. A 22-year-old veteran of a few junior teams, he had high hopes of representing his nation this summer in front of a home crowd at London. A shoulder injury and surgery sidelined him from these Games, though, and Stern’s proposal wouldn’t help any future attempts. “Personally, I would not like it at all, because that’s my dream to play in the Olympics,” says Neighbour. “I came closer this year, and then my shoulder happened, so my eyes are already set on 2016. And it would just make everything so much harder for me to make that team.

“I think every country should just give the best that they have and I think that’s why they allowed professionals to play in the Olympics in the first place.”

The prospects don’t look good for guys like Neighbour. What Stern and his inner circle want, Stern et al. tend to get. Even if that happens, though, could this new-fangled FIBA World Cup actually eclipse the Olympics in popularity and prestige, like the FIFA World Cup has in soccer?

Don’t bet on it, says Kleine. “It’s won’t overtake the Olympics. I think the Olympics are too steeped in tradition. It’s just such big deal.”

That may be true. But for an ambitious multinational corporation like the National Basketball Association, profit is a much bigger deal than patriotism.

This article was originally published in SYNC magazine. Listen to the 89.1 FM version of this story at kuar.org.

The NBA has announced a partnership with high-heel footwear brand HERSTAR, bringing together a passion for sports and a love for fashion in a unique, fresh way. The shoes combine popular women’s shoe trends with the most popular NBA teams and colors—enough to make a bold statement. More details, from the NBA and HERSTAR:

The collection, available at HERSTAR.com, features two styles available in all 30 NBA teams. The microsuede pump steps up the classic shoe with handmade, microsuede and a 4” heel with a 1” internal platform. This collection retails for $99.99. Also available for $249.99 is the limited edition crystal pump which is fully-hand strassed in Middle Eastern Crystals and offset by a 6” heel and 3″ internal platform. These sparkling pumps are the MVP of heels, allowing female sports fans to show off their love of the game while embracing their feminine side.

“We are always looking to broaden our product assortment by partnering with creative and innovative brands,” said Lisa Piken, Vice President of Licensing for the NBA. “HERSTAR collection is not only fashionable but also comfortable — perfect for our female fans.”

“This partnership is a slam-dunk for HERSTAR! We look forward to offering sports fans a high-end line of fashionable heels”, said Holly Joffrion, founder and CEO of HERSTAR. “We understand how much women love their shoes and recognize that going to an NBA game can be an event beyond the hardwood. We’re able to combine the love of basketball and footwear together, allowing female fans another way to display their passion for the game.”

The list of NBA hard fouls is a long one; whether during the regular season or the most memorable deckings during the playoffs, the history of the NBA is one littered with hard fouls, flagrant fouls, and physical play. Yet, if you turned on the television these days and read countless commentaries on the NBA’s problem with physical play, you would think the NBA was facing some new epidemic of lawlessness and dirty plays. The game has always been physical and the NBA’s crackdown on such play doesn’t reflect changes in the game or the players’ approach to the game, but a myriad of factors that are bigger than the game itself.

There are multiple reasons for why the NBA is cracking down on physical play and hard fouls: (1) the style of play within the NBA has changed since late 1980s and early 1990s. Responding to the rise of the “Bad Boys” and their distant cousins in NY and Miami, as well as the lack of fanfare for the physical domination of the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, the League has pushed through changes that have led to a more free-flowing game, one defined by slashing and dynamic scorers going hard to the basket. While scoring is actually down from the golden age of both hard fouls and offense, the twenty-first century game is defined by penetration, athletic moves around the basket, and the artistry that results from Westbrook, DRose, or LeBron attacking the rim. A league of hard fouls, or a strictly enforced “no layup rule” would potentially undermine the beauty of the contemporary game.

(2) Hard fouls have been dramatically curtailed because of the NBA’s reliance on stars as global marketing icons. The need for multiple superstars, many of whom garner their global reach through success during the Playoffs, makes minimizing injuries crucial.

(3) Increased knowledge about the long-term effects of injuries as well as the physical changes amongst today’s athletes compels greater scrutiny when it comes to fouls. “Nowadays bigger, stronger bodies collide play after play, at elevations off the court few could imagine three decades ago,” writes Henry Abbott. “The forces in play are vastly greater, the knowledge of brain damage that much more acute. The League does far more than ever to prevent the escalation of violence, because it has to and should.” While these issues surely play a role in the heightened anxiety, the increasingly loud calls from the media to crackdown on the rough play in the NBA, and that flagrant foul calls have become more commonplace than traveling and double dribbling calls combine, the changing landscape of the sports media and race help explain the draconian approach to hard fouls within today’s NBA.

Sandwiched between Blake Griffin’s Kia commercials and those for Subway, the media landscape during the last month of NBA coverage has been dominated by Metta World Peace’s elbow of James Harden. Seemingly played on an endless loop, it seems that virtually every conversation about the NBA lead to a replay of the elbow over and over again. The widespread circulation of these fouls, and the saturation of the airwaves of fouls create conditions where league intervention is inevitable. With its efforts to reach untapped markets within and beyond the United States, the league seeks to control its image, an increasingly difficult task within our highlight-oriented culture. A flagrant foul can potentially be seen within minutes of its occurrence, leading to many judgments and commentaries from fans and pundits alike even before the league is able to formally review the play. Reflecting the 24-7 sports new industry, the reach of blogs, the power of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, hard fouls in the NBA exists as a spectacle allowing fans to witness the physicality and the violence over and over again.

At YouTube, one can type in “3-pointer and Metta World Peace” only to find a handful of videos that has been viewed in the thousands. Type in “flagrant foul and Metta World Peace” and shockingly there are endless video choices, some of which have been viewed by over 1 million people. Do the same for “Andrew Bynum and post moves” and compare that to “Andrew Bynum” and “JJ Barea/flagrant fouls”; even someone like Dwyane Wade, who clearly has a highlight reel of brilliant shots and slashing drives, is equally visible within new media circles for an array of flagrant and hard fouls.

While physical play, flagrant fouls and suspensions are not unique to the playoffs, this time of year seems to bring about heightened insecurity about elbows, forearm shivers, and “no layup” defense. Sure, the play might be more physical, as more is at stake, but it would seem that the increased coverage during the playoffs, the millions of new eyes watching, puts the league in a difficult situation. The hyper saturation contributes to an impression of the league as getting more and more physical, more and more violent, which not surprisingly has compelled intervention from the League—for the sake of publication relations and for “basketball reasons” the League has shown itself to be unwilling to return to the physical play of yesteryear.

It is impossible (and not productive) to talk about the NBA in absence of race. Todd Boyd argues that the NBA “remains one of the few places in American society where there is a consistent racial discourse,” where race, whether directly or indirectly, is the subject of conversation at all times (Boyd 2000, p. 60). David Stern has acknowledged how race matters with the NBA: “I think it’s fair to say that the NBA was the first sport that was widely viewed as a black sport. And whatever the numbers ultimately are for the other sports, the NBA will always be treated a certain way because of that. Our players are so visible that if they have Afros or cornrows or tattoos—white or black—our consumers pick it up. So, I think there are always some elements of race involved that affect judgments about the NBA” (David Stern quoted in Lee 2005). It is not a coincidence that panics and hysteria are limited to basketball, especially when comparing the level of accepted violence in football, hockey, baseball, and NASCAR. An elbow is clearly physically dangerous but so is a 95 MPH fastball or a 185 MPH car. Yet, so often it is NBA hard fouls that elicit doomsday scenarios, breaking news updates, and calls for immediate punishment. Part of this comes from the racial demographics of the NBA and the fact that it is seen as a “black league.” According to Henry Abbott:

Although some fans will tell you they’re thrilled by the no-extra-charge sprinkling of mixed martial arts, by and large the league operates with the fear of riling a finicky general sports audience that is terrified of the spectacle of these players — predominantly black — behaving violently. In baseball and hockey it’s “boys will be boys” but in this sport it’s treated like the end of civilization as we know it when they start taking swings. Harsh penalties have essentially eliminated not only bench-clearing brawls but also punches and even most blatant elbows. There’s a reason the Wests and Haslems have learned to attack using the elbow of a straight arm.

It is also not a coincidence that media and league concerns about physical play, about hard fouls, has increased since the Palace Brawl. Michael Tillery rightly links this shift to the Palace Brawl when he wrote, “Growing up and seeing how physical the NBA was in the 80′s and 90′s, last night didn’t phase me. I don’t care how the NBA has cut down on physical play because of the Malace in the Palace (Metta World Peace explains what happened at length).” What I found is in the aftermath of the Palace Brawl, much of which I document in After Artest, the NBA, many fans, and the sports media all began to voice their concerns of the NBA being “too black” and took steps to change that image, what social scientists would call “de-racialization.” It’s not that they sought to make the NBA less Black in terms of the number of players but they wanted to changed the perception of the NBA of being “too black” by trying to change on and off-court behavior. Rather than challenge fans who called players ghetto criminals, or pundits who disparaged the league as one of out-of-control thugs, the league sought to change its image, to convince those who expressed negative views of the NBA that the league was indeed made up of MJ and Magic and not those kids on the corner who these same fans would cross the street just to avoid. It sought to convince the public that indeed you could take the NBA player out of the ghetto and take the ghetto out of the NBA player if they were sent to college, if they wore the right clothes, if the were punished and disciplined when necessary, especially when they exhibit behaviors associated with violence or otherwise engaged in overly physical play. In the end, it is about the physical play but what that foul means when committed by a black baller who is often seen through a stereotypical lens.

Although I wish the referees would play less and less of a role in the outcome of the games, I would celebrate a media encouraging historic perspective, and pine for a league that doesn’t turn every hard foul into a fine-able and suspend-able offense. The likelihood of a return to this NBA, if it is ever existed, is about as great as the Bobcats winning a Championship next year. That ship has sailed, but if are to understand the panics and punishments, if we are going to understand the role of race and a changing media landscape, it is imperative that talk about these shifts, pushing back against those who see it as just a natural transformation. Most of all I wish for a little bit of honesty when it comes to the NBA’s physical play.

David J. Leonard is Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. He is the author of Screens Fade to Black: Contemporary African American Cinema and the forthcoming After Artest: Race and the War on Hoop (SUNY Press). Leonard is a regular contributor to NewBlackMan and blogs at No Tsuris.

There was some decent basketball this past Sunday, but even we have to admit that the world’s eyes moved to the world of football for the day, as the Patriots, Ravens, Giants and 49ers battled for the coveted right to play in 2012’s Super Bowl. Like everybody else, the members of the NBA that didn’t have games to play were focused in on the NFL action, and took to Twitter with their thoughts as the two exciting games unfolded. Roll through the gallery above to see how your favorite players responded to the gridiron excitement.

As the NBA’s relentless marketing machine penetrates deeper and deeper into China, the two partners continue to strengthen relations, and expand NBA offerings to Chinese hoops fans: “The NBA announced Tuesday it will host its first-ever NBA Chinese New Year Celebration Jan 21-28. The comprehensive, week-long NBA Chinese New Year Celebration 2012 will pay tribute to the league’s Chinese fan base with live games, customized coverage and a variety of NBA-themed events in China and the U.S. The NBA, with the support of its television and digital partners in China, will recognize and celebrate the Year of the Dragon with customized coverage of 21 games across CCTV 5, BTV, GDTV, GZTV, NowTV, NBA TV, Sina, and Tencent. NBA China marketing partners Boshiwa International Holding Limited, Dongfeng Aeolus and PEAK Sports are co-presenting partners of the NBA Chinese New Year Celebration 2012. During the celebration, Chinese fans will be able to watch top NBA teams, including the 2010-11 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, featuring Chinese player Yi Jianlian, as well as the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder. To tip off Chinese New Year and continue throughout the week, the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors will host in-arena celebrations on Jan. 23 and Jan. 28 respectively. Fans in attendance will experience a variety of elements and activities that pay tribute to Chinese culture. In addition, the players will wear specially designed Chinese New Year shooting shirts from adidas, the league’s official on court apparel outfitter, which will be available for fans worldwide at NBAStore.com. Fans in China will be able to vote for the most valuable player of all games broadcast on Sina and Tencent on the official NBA microblogs on Sina, Tencent and Tencent Q zone.”

The results of the 2011-12 NBA.com GM survey are in, and as always, they contain a whole bunch of interesting tidbits. As they do every year, NBA.com polled every general manager to find out how they expected this season to unfold. Head over to the League’s site to check them out, but peep a few noteworthy pieces of information below:

It’s baaack. The (seemingly) endless offseason has come to an end, and 2011-12 is finally here. Between the incredible Knicks-Celtics game that led off the big day and the holiday spirit in the air, players around the NBA were feeling pretty damn good today, and they took to Twitter to spread those positive vibes to the masses. Roll through the gallery above to see how a variety of NBAers responded to the excitement of the first tilt and the beginning of the new season.

It’s back! As you surely know by now, the NBA season officially tipped off today, and before the Knicks-Celtics telecast began, the NBA unveiled this crazy intro video, in which current players are matched up alongside the League’s legends. Check it out above.

Free agents will still not be able to come to an official agreement (or even an oral agreement) with their suitors until Friday, Dec. 9, but according to ESPN, team executives and coaches are free to begin courting players directly as of Monday morning: “NBA team executives and coaches will be allowed to start talking to players around the league starting Monday at 10 a.m. ET, according to sources familiar with the league’s decision. Teams were notified Saturday that contact with players — and free agents — will be allowed Monday as the scheduled opening of NBA training camps approaches Dec. 9. Sources say the league, though, is still telling teams the restrictions in place since Wednesday — which stipulate that no oral or written agreements can be struck with free agents — remain in place because the lockout is still technically in effect. Sources say coaches likewise can’t supervise on-court workouts before camp begins Friday but teams are allowed to give physical exams to free agents.”

Thursday night, as meetings between the NBA owners and players ended, word broke that nothing positive—at all—had resulted from the talks, and that the two sides were still as far apart as they ever had been in the past. Just as many fans did, players didn’t waste time before hitting Twitter with their thoughts, venting about trying (and failing) to make a deal and what the ramifications would be for all involved. Roll through the gallery above to see how your favorite NBAers responded to the awful news.

Detroit Piston’s Point Guard Will Bynum is giving back these next two weeks. As most players do in the off season, Will Bynum is giving back by conducting his own basketball camp ” The Will Bynum Summer Youth Basketball Camp” in the city where he grew up, Chicago. Being a Chicago native myself, I was happy to hear that their was something for these kids to do to get them off the crime infested streets. During this 3 day camp Will will not only conduct basketball drills, but also educate the kids on anti- bullying, mentor and leadership skills as well as enjoying some improv comedy.

In addition to the basketball camp in Chicago, the Piston’s Point Guard will also take his camp to Tel Aviv, Israel August 7th-9th. After bringing the country a Championship Will gained the hearts of many fans. With all the love he has received he felt it was only right to bring the camp to the country that gave him a jump start to his NBA career. According to his press release Will had this to say about the camp going to Israel “I am enthused to come to Israel, the fans and community showed me so much love when I played there, I just had to come back and give back to all of them,” Bynum said.

NBA Nation, the world’s “largest mobile basketball playground,” will be tipping off this weekend in Houston. Check the press release from the NBA below for details:

The NBA’s largest mobile basketball playground, NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile, will tip off its fifth summertime tour in Houston on Saturday, April 30 at the “Houston International Festival.”

More than 1 million fans will visit NBA Nation, which will travel more than 10,000 miles making stops in eight NBA cities – Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, San Antonio, New York and Washington, DC. The customized 18-wheel NBA Nation truck expands into 20,000 square feet of basketball playground providing free interactive basketball activities, as well as the opportunity to meet NBA Players and Legends.

NBA Legend Darryl Dawkins will serve as the official tour ambassador visiting cities throughout the tour to greet fans, sign autographs and serve as a special judge for select competitions. Along with presenting partner T-Mobile, NBA Nation features associate partners Kia Motors, Sprite and Dribble to Stop Diabetes (an NBA/WNBA/D-League FIT campaign supported by sanofi-aventis U.S. and the American Diabetes Association). The tour provides fans of all ages a variety of free interactive basketball activities on the NBA Nation Center Court and T-Mobile 4G Half Court.

NBA Nation activities include the following:

· T-Mobile 4G Half Court – Fans can take part in competitions and clinics featuring the “T-Mobile 4G Shooters Touch” Game, pitting fans with their family and friends against an opposing team to see who can sink their shots first.

· Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown – Fans can use their creativity and basketball skills to perform their best dunks before a panel of judges including NBA Nation Ambassador Darryl Dawkins. One winner from each city will receive a $1,000 prize and continue competing for the chance to be crowned the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown Champion. The runner up in each city will receive $500.

· T-Mobile 4G In Action – Basketball fans will have the opportunity to interact with a number of T-Mobile 4G devices and get their phones engraved with their favorite NBA team’s logo.

· Dribble to Stop Diabetes – Fans will be encouraged to take a diabetes risk test as well as get active by participating in a number of dribbling activities on NBA Nation Center Court.

· T-Mobile VIP Sky Deck – Existing T-Mobile customers will be granted access to the T-Mobile VIP Sky Deck where they can watch the action, listen to deejays spinning the hottest music and enjoy refreshments.

· Measure Up – Fans can measure themselves against life-size replicas of favorite players on the Tall and Short, Arm Span, Walk of Fame and Get-A-Grip displays.

The bad news is that there might not be any NBA hoops to watch next year. The good news is that if you purchase season tickets, you will get your money back. Bloomberg reports: “National Basketball Association season-ticket holders will receive refunds plus interest if games are canceled because of a labor dispute next season, in contrast to the National Football League, which has said it’s up to clubs to decide how to handle deposits. While both leagues have told fans that they’ll get their money back for tickets to lost games, the NBA will also pay interest on what could amount to loans to franchises from fans, Mike Bass, a spokesman for the NBA, said in a telephone interview. The NFL is letting its clubs set their own policies. At least one team, the Chicago Bears, is not offering interest. Whether interest payments are addressed at the league or team level should be of less concern than how fans are treated overall, said David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California. ‘Individual fans will be made more than whole by the teams, directly or indirectly, or these franchises will face an extraordinary community relations backlash,’ Carter said in a telephone interview.”

The NBA has granted the Sacramento Kings request to extend the relocation deadline. The League released the following statement:

The NBA Board of Governors has approved an extension of the deadline for the Sacramento Kings to file an application to relocate the team to a new market. The deadline, which is typically March 1 prior to the season for which a team wants to relocate, has now been moved to April 18 to give Kings ownership the opportunity to discuss its options with the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting on April 14-15.

The cities of Anaheim and Sacramento will have to wait until the end of the regular season to find out the Kings’ fate.

A disappointed Johnson addressed media Thursday in a press conference. He reassured the public that he and the Sacramento City Council were not going to give the Kings up without a fight. However, he did say that if the Kings do decide to move, the city would continue to “push forward with a new entertainment sports complex.”

“I just think in my opinion Sacramento deserves better than this,” said Johnson, who was upset to learn of the Maloof’s request to the League via a Google Alert.

When asked if he believed the Maloofs were using Sacramento as leverage in discussions with Anaheim, the Mayor refused to speculate.

” We want to be dealt with like an adult,” he said. “We certainly understand financial challenges that organization is dealing with. But at the same token, you cannot tell me this community and this market is not a great market for the NBA.”

He also added that he has conversations with David Stern every two or three weeks, emphasizing that he has an active relationship with the commissioner. Based on his rapport with Stern, Johnson thinks that the commissioner would agree that Sacramento is a feasible home for an NBA franchise.

Speaking from what he would believe to be Stern’s position, Johnson said the following:

” It is hard for our franchises to compete economically if you don’t have those type of facilities with luxury boxes, suites and all the things that go with that. If you could figure out how to get that done, then why would the Kings or anybody not want to be here in Sacramento. Quite honestly that’s a part of what the Maloof’s frustration is. Now how much they have to blame and what responsibility they have and all that, we can negotiate.”

And even if the Maloofs part ways with the city, the retired NBA point guard believes Sacramento has proven itself worthy to Stern of courting another franchise, based on the successful run enjoyed by the Kings during the last decade.

“If they do leave,” Johnson began, speaking again from what he felt would be the commissioner’s perspective. “I would still (encourage) you to show that you can build a new entertainment sports complex and be ready for the next opportunity that comes your way.”

The Sacramento arena development team is still waiting for financial documents from the Maloofs to begin their own feasibility analysis. And Johnson hopes the Kings owners, who are supposed to hand over those documents today, follow through.

“If that doesn’t take place,” the Mayor said. “Then I think actions will speak louder than words at that point.”

Johnson has meetings scheduled with the Maloofs and David Stern on Tuesday, coincidentally the same date as the League’s relocation filing deadline.

Two months into the job and new Golden State Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob has been more welcoming to local media than his predecessor Chris Cohan was in 16 years. Recently, he’s taken time to speak intimately with bloggers (Warriors World) and traditional media (Santa Rosa Press Democrat) alike. Today, he spent an hour on the Warriors’ flagship radio station, KNBR, and sat down with host Gary Radnich and took calls from fans. Why make himself vulnerable to the scrutiny of a loyal, but tortured fan-base? Said Lacob: “Well, I tell you – it’s been interesting. Two months owning the team. What I’ve noticed is, when you do these interviews with the media and the press, they get to write the story and most of the time, it is what I said or what somebody said. But the thing is it’s static, they can take a word of context. It would be good to give the fans an opportunity to talk to me directly, if they want to ask a question. And also what I say here, they can see the whole thing – it’s not out of context. So I think that’s one of the reasons we wanted to do it. We want to give people an opportunity to be closer to the team and be more accessible.”

The Hornets made it 4 wins in a row with a victory over the Bobcats. Being the pillar of consistency, David West scored 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Chris Paul finished with 19 points and 4 assists. New Orleans took advantage when Tyrus Thomas was ejected for being Tyrus Thomas with 2:38 left to play, as the Hornets hit four straight free throws to put the game on ice. Gerald Wallace scored 15 but he and his team had a cold shooting night as they shot 41% and committed 16 turnovers, partially due to the recent Wallace-to-Cleveland trade rumours. Kwame Brown had a solid game with 12 points and 14 rebounds, but am I the only one that he looks like he’s missing free throws on purpose? Attention all potential coaches looking at jobs with New Orleans: please note that the qualifications include “must dislike money”. Coach Silas recalled a contract extension offer of just $1.85 a year before his final season with the team.

Speaking of cold, hard cash – pay Aaron Brooks. What’s Houston waiting for? To throw some more money on Yao’s foot? Brooks put up 24 points and 10 assists in a Rockets win over the Hawks (bad day to play home games in Atlanta yesterday). Houston came back from a 9-point deficit in the third quarter to take the lead going into the fourth, where the lead was extended to 13 halfway through the quarter. Joe Johnson (30 points) hit a three to pull Atlanta within 7 with 11 seconds left but Brooks wrapped up the game with a pair of free throws.

As LeBron sat out with a ruptured ego, the Bulls took advantage with a close win over the Heat. Chicago was led by Derrick Rose’s 34 points and upset Dwyane Wade’s comeback effort. Rose had a ridiculous corkscrew drive with 1:40 to play but Wade answered with a three. The next possession, Rose pump-faked and converted an and-1 play, putting the Bulls up 5. Wade hit three straight three’s to take the air out of the building, putting the Heat up with 37 seconds to go. Who do the Bulls go to? Ashton Kutcher, of course. After Kyle Korver’s not exactly planned but still clutch shot, the Heat committed a broken play then Wade missed the potential game-tying shot. Wade finished the night with 33 points, 12 of them in the 4th quarter and Bosh went down with an ankle injury in the third after keeping Miami in the game with 11 points in the quarter, finishing with 17. Rose was perfect from the free-throw line (8-of-8) in addition to his 11 4th quarter points as he single headedly carried the Bulls to victory. Just to make sure, we’re all still excited that Mike Miller is back, right? He’s either still dealing with the hand injury from touching LeBron’s greatness or beginning to slowly fall off. Regardless, the Heat need him to step up and revert back to the Miller time of old if they are to get wins without their superstars. Despite color commentator’s proclamations, no barns were burned in the making of this basketball game.

Nick Young entered the Verizon Center to do two things: score the ball and chew bubble gum – and he was fresh out of bubble gum. Young and his afro scored 29 points, 18 of which came in the third quarter alone as his Wizards defeated the Raptors. The Wiz blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead and barely hung on for the win, apparently the only way that the team knows how to win. Jose Calderon had a great game with 21 points, 15 assists, and 9 rebounds but Young put the game away by hitting 5 of 6 free throws in the last 18 seconds of the game. John Wall, meet rookie wall. Though Wall is a bit banged up, he went 4-for-14 with 3 points, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers. Washington continues to search for its identity, as they are now 11-8 at home and 0-19 on the road.

The Pistons put another one in the win column with a win over the Kings, led by Tayshaun Prince’s 21 points and Rodney Stuckey’s 19. The Kings actually started out quite hot, scoring 70 points in the first half but cooled off late, adding just 36 the rest of the way. Detroit held Sac-town to just 10 points before leading in a fourth quarter that saw Will Bynumite seal the game with a clutch block. Tyreke Evans regained his Rookie of the Year form with 25 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds while the injured T-Mac (that’s an oxymoron, right?) put up some binary code numbers ( 0, 1, 0) before leaving the game with a shin injury.

The return of the Dirkmeister was short-lived as the Mavs fell to the Grizzlies. Walking contradiction Zach Randolph had 23 points and 20 rebounds while Nowitzki scored just 7 points in his return and was ejected in the third quarter. Ian Mahinmi (who?) led the Mavs with 17 points but 70 points marks a Dallas low in point total this season and they are now losers of five straight. Dirk was visibly rusty and the rest of the Mavs were about as cohesive as the last Cavalier time-out, shooting 5-for-20 in the third quarter as they handed the keys of the game to Memphis from there on.

The Magic ended their 2-game slide with a win over the Wolves, led by Jason Richardson’s 21 points. Trade throw-in Ryan Anderson had a productive night from the bench with 15 points and 11 boards while Corey Brewer led the Wolves with 23 points and 5 steals. Minnesota gave away their 15-point lead by committing 12 turnovers after half time as Stan Van Gundy put in Anderson to draw Kevin Love (11 points, 15 rebounds) away from the basket and out of “ridiculous rebounding numbers” range. Anderson responded with three 3-pointers in a critical 22-9 Orlando run and limited Love to just 9 rebounds over the last 44 minutes of play. The Magic are now 10-4 since their trade last month.

The pain of sharp losses, it burns deep. The Cavaliers are getting used to the feeling as they dropped their 13th straight game, this time getting dismantled by the Nuggets. Denver was led by Nene “life of the party” Hilario scoring 22 points and received production from players described as “a spark off the bench” to “I wonder when my last game will be?” I refuse to mention any Cleveland highlights, considering that’s like saying you’re the least-infected zombie in Resident Evil. Truth is, Cleveland only had 8 players to work with, but 80 points at halftime ties the Cavs’ opponent record in points allowed. This same time last year Cavs fans were likely to be planning 15-game win streaks and pretending which All-Star LeBron would vouch for, whereas these days they’re most likely looking forward to the lottery. I say take Kyrie Irving. What if he’s still injured, you ask? Then he’ll fit right in.

The Blazers got back on the winning side of things with a victory over the Nets. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 27 points, whose dunk with 1:56 to play stretched his team’s lead for good. While it’s nice to see a win for the Blazers, they shouldn’t have allowed a team like the Nets to hang around for as long as they did. Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 32 points but his squad couldn’t hold off the late rally by the Blazers. After a pair of free throws by Portland, Wes Matthews’ fastbreak lay-up put his team up five and put the final nail in the Jersey coffin. Ever had the urge to stockpile Patty Mills jerseys in bulk? Now you have an excuse to, since half of the proceeds will go towards helping the victims of the floods in Australia.

Digging through some TerezOwens.com is always a great time killer for sports fans, especially when hoops-related pictures are the result. One of these kids in this picture from 1991 has five rings. Three kids from this picture do not.

Shout out from Portland! I spent my day like most sports fans would: stay in the hotel and watch wild card weekend. As we were driving through Seattle, I saw Quest’s open dome and wished I had enough time to get tickets to the game. No way the Seahawks would win, right? Don’t forget to check out plenty of hoops action from last night, and be sure to look for me in tonight’s Heat game (I’m the awesome one way up top in the Rose Garden).

The Hawks made it four in a row with a win over the Pacers, winning 8 of their last 10. Josh Smith led Atlanta with 27 points (including 14 fourth-quarter points), 10 rebounds and 6 assists. The Hawks moved the ball around the perimeter to get themselves easier shots, shooting 43% on the night including 50% from deep. Joe Johnson got back in the scoring groove of things with 24 points while Jamal Crawford scored 20 off the bench. Danny Granger led Indiana with 16. What do you guys think, will Granger get traded by Indiana?

Kevin Durant singlehandedly turned around Oklahoma City’s inconsistent ship with a game of 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists as he surged his Thunder over the Grizzlies. The Durantula scored 28 of his 40 points in the second half as his Robin Russell Westbrook added 22 points and 11 assists in the win. Z-Bo had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Grizzlies but Memphis couldn’t get closer than two points (shooting 1-for-15 from deep didn’t help, either). Despite being outscored 60-38 in the paint, OKC hustled their way to out-rebounded Memphis as the Thunder grinded out the win with some key plays down the stretch including Durant’s floater and free throws.

Such is the enigma (and frustration) of the Wizards: a solid win the previous night followed by a crushing loss to the Bobcats the following night. Gerald Henderson had a career night with 19 points and 9 rebounds as he spoiled John Wall’s homecoming. Wall didn’t shoot well and had 16 points and 11 assists but also committed 5 turnovers. In addition to D.J. Augustin’s 20 points and 9 assists, the Bobcats seem to be liberated to play in a more free system under Coach Silas. “We’re not robots, we’re just playing free right now.” Stephen Jackson said.

Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half to lead his Bucks over the Nets. Kardashian boy-toy Kris Humphries had a productive night as he scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 24 minutes to lead New Jersey in both categories. With CDR’s recently discovered steady play and balanced production from at least three starters on a nightly basis, have the Bucks began to figure things out on offense? Oh, and Brandon Jennings hasn’t even played while Milwaukee starts to become competitive. Not sure if that’s a positive or negative for the team.

The Pistons used another overtime to clinch a victory over the Sixers thanks to streaky shooting and timely shots made late in the game. Tayshaun Prince led the Detroit with 23 points but it was his clone Austin Daye who made clutch shots down the stretch, with a game-tying 3-pointer in the corner with 3.5 seconds left. While Evan Turner had a productive night with 19 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists off he bench, Jrue Holiday has gotten swallowed up in the ocean of great point guards in the league. If you look beyond the stats (and if you don’t – 15 points, 12 assists in this game), he matches up well with most guards and is recently able to get the better of them. Throw in a jump shot and some more games under his belt and he’ll be set to crack elite company.

A match-up of the league two premier point guards saw the Bulls get some revenge against the short-handed Celtics. Derrick Rose was fearless as he drove to the basket past Rondo on his way to 36 points and 5 rebounds, out-playing Rondo’s 13 points and 8 assists. Chicago had Boston on their heels for most of the night as they scrambled for loose balls and initiated contact on the offensive end while Boston went away from their sets with a lot of one-on-one play which played into the hands of the Bulls. Rose began to settle his free-throw woes with a career-high 15-of-19 night at the stripe while Carlos Boozer proved to be trusty yet again with his 22 points and 10 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 21 for the Celtics who are now 5-2 without Garnett.

What do we do? “Shoot three’s!” When do we do it? “Always!” As usual, no one is noticing the Magic rising up among the east playoff ranks, as Orlando defeated the Mavericks, their 9th straight win. The Turkish Michael Jordan had 13 points and 17 assists while Dwight finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Magic rebounded from a 16-point deficit as they outscored the Mavs 37-26 in the fourth quarter. DeShawn Stevenson scored a season-high 24 points but Dallas lacks the firepower without a certain German hitting off-balance jumpers. Leading by 3 with just under 10 minutes to play, the Magic went on a 26-3 run to finish the game.

The comeback kids were back in full effect as the Jazz rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat the Rockets. Paul Millsap went into beast mode in overtime, scoring 12 of his 27 points while Al Jefferson added 24 points and 13 rebounds. On the other side of the power forward coin, Luis Scola had 24 points and 10 rebounds but his Rockets couldn’t close the game and are now on a 5-game losing streak. It really is a joy watching Deron Williams play. Though he had an off shooting night (5-of-16 from the field), D-Will orchestrates Utah’s offense masterfully, dishing 15 assists as defenders still have to respect his ice cold shot, especially late in games. The go-to dribble drive to foul line jumper is like Pierce with better strength and speed. So with him as the steady hand along with Millsap and Jefferson contributing nightly, the Jazz don’t have to fear making the playoffs.

Chase Budinger (22 pts) and the Rockets spoiled DeMar Derozan’s career-high 37 points as they beat the Raptors. D-Rex scored 29 points in the second half and single-handedly kept Toronto in the game, especially in the third quarter. After walking overpaid foul trouble Amir Johnson fouled out, the Rockets quickly extender their lead to 15 points and never looked back.

The ancient Celtics lost their third straight game since their 14-game win streak, this time at the hands of the Hornets. While Chris Paul had 20 points and 11 assists, Trevor Ariza made himself useful by hitting a 3-pointer with 1:34 to play to lead the Hornets to victory. A Ray Allen(18 points) missed hail-mary three pointer made it official: the Celtics need more veterans. Reggie Miller, Greg Oden, and Patrick Ewing – come on down! Hey Pierce – you do realize the water you stole from a fan is not MJ’s secret juice, right? Although you can still try sprinkling it on KG’s leg and see if anything happens. The Celtics will need all the remedies they can get if they want to stay on top of the Eastern conference. Along those lines, I finally figured out a use for Jermaine O’Neal in the playoffs – throw him out in Game 1 against the Lakers and tell him to bite Bynum’s knee. Sure, J.O. would get ejected and suspended, but you can’t tell me he would have a bigger impact on the series than that.

Holding off a late rally, the Warriors pulled off the win against the Bobcats and kept me furious as I thought both teams would be battling for a seventh or sixth seed this season. The most exciting backcourt in the NBA (the Curry/Ellis law-firm) combined for 49 points and Monta Ellis is the only player in the league averaging at least 25 points, 5 assists and 2 steals – All Star game, please. Stephen Jackson had 22 for the ‘Cats but missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining.

The Pacers started their New Year’s Eve celebrations early as they cruised past the Wizards, led by Granger and Collison’s 18 points. John Wall had 25 points but Indiana took over early with a 20-4 run in the second quarter while the Wiz shot a Kobe-esque 2 of 14 in the same quarter. While the rebuilding project slowly takes form, Washington is still without a road win this season. Rashard Lewis scored 15 points in the game, the same amount as he scored in the entire series against the Celtics in the playoffs. How much did he get paid for that playoff series, you ask? Over $18M.

The Thunder beat the Hawks with their Batman and Robin two punch. Kevin Durant nailed five 3-pointers en route to 33 points while Russell Westbrook triple-doubled with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, the last one coming with 6.9 seconds to go in the game to increase the Thunder’s lead and increase Westbrook’s swagger. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 26 off the bench but the Hawks succumbed to a 16-6 fourth quarter run. Coach Larry Drew didn’t appreciate Russ not dribbling out thclock : “The game is over with. You’ve got the ball, you run the clock out. Just that plain and simple”. Hey Larry – tell me how Westbrook’s pass taste.

The Pistons broke their New Year’s resolution to win basketball games by being shut down defensively at the hands of the Suns. Jared Dudley and the debut of Vince Carter both scored 19 points to lead the Suns while Ben Gordon had 19 for the Pistons. After Alvin Gentry ran tough defense-minded practices, the results showed as the Suns held Detroit to 41% shooting while they took away the offensive flow and contested three-point shooters at the same time. Considering Phoenix has allowed over 100 points in their last 10 of 11 games, 75 isn’t a bad number to aim for as the team searches for more wins.

The Mamba’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, as Kobe stuck some jumpers to carry his Lakers over the Sixers in the last game of 2010. Bryant had 33 points including a jumper that put the Lakers up with 1:15 to play, out-dueling Jrue Holiday’s 19 points and 11 assists. Philedelphia battled to the end until they missed five shots in the last minute of the game as Kobe iced the game with some free throws.

Christmas Day games have caused mixed emotions for me over the last few years.

On one hand, watching games on the 25th has been a long-running tradition that my brother and I have forced on our family since we were kids. It’s a guaranteed fight starter with our sisters, who always wanted to watch more seasonally appropriate programming and it angered my dad, who rants every year that pro athletes shouldn’t have to play on Christmas Day. He says it should be a day for families, plain and simple. The arguing, the sibling resentment and the games themselves are all a part of the tradition for me. I love it.

On the other hand, what used to be the annual double-header has morphed into five games and 10 teams, with half of them being non contenders, at best. I like the Warriors as much as anyone, but they have no place in my Christmas Day viewing. Ditto for the Knicks, even if they’re playing their best ball in a decade. Show me Kobe, LeBron, Rondo and Kevin Durant or Dwight Howard and let me eat my turkey and bread pudding in peace, NBA.

There. Rant complete.

The only good thing that comes from a five-game Christmas Day schedule is the plethora of special makeup sneaks that come with it. A few pics have been leaked already in the last month or so and I want to get them all in one spot and run through them. Since formatting wanted to be difficult with me, all the pics run at the end of the text.

First, some detailed pics of Kevin Garnett’s Anta KG 1s have shown up today on CounterKicks.

Next, Kobe Bryant will wear an appropriate Grinch-themed version of his Zoom Kobe VI when he looks to steal Christmas from LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh.

Finally, we’ve got a bit of an oddball pic to wrap this up. The Clippers don’t play on Christmas Day, but Baron Davis is laced with what might be the best holiday-themed sneaker I’ve ever seen. The Clippers do play Phoenix on Dec. 26, so he could wear them then. Or maybe the Blazers can just go to Staples and make it a double-header for LA fans. Might as well, right?

Last name “winning”, first name “never”. As Melo called in sick for a second straight game, the Nuggets delivered an early Christmas present to George Karl, beating the Raptors to earn Karl’s 1000th career win. Al Harrington picked up the offensive load with 31 points and Nene tore apart Toronto’s great wall of frontline softness with 26 points of his own. The Raps made a run, mainly by jacking up threes from similar distance to their home country, cutting it to single digits with 2:18 to play before falling to Big Shot Billups and his free throws. Kleiza led the Raps with 26 points off the bench, in addition to grabbing three times as much rebounds as Bargnani (24 points, 3 rebounds).

I brushed off previous wins to early season luck but with a victory over the Bobcats, the Pacers are not only playoff-bound, but fighting for the 6th seed in the East. Their success partly relies on how terrible the Bucks have played, but in any case playing above .500 for this team should be accomplishment enough. Danny Granger led the balanced attack with 18 points while Roy “last name mostly likely to make you smile for no reason” Hibbert had 13 points,14 boards, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Gerald Wallace had 26 but the Bobcats couldn’t get enough offense to match the Pacers’ 41% from distance, with Charlotte only shooting 3-of-17 from distance. Not only that, but Indiana was able to hold the Bobcats to 41% shooting overall and have quietly led the league in field-goal percentage defense. Why is Indiana still boo-ing Stephen Jackson? It happened over 4 years ago, get over it.

Speaking of potential first-round exits, the Knicks won their seventh straight game with a victory over the Wizards, thanks to Amare’s triple double of 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 turnovers. Like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, this is kind of a big deal since the Knicks haven’t won seven straight in a decade and Stoudemire tied a franchise-best seven straight games with 30 points or more (shout out to Willie Naulls in 1962).The Wizards made some plays down the stretch to pull within three, but like McGee’s free-throw line dunk, failed in the end. Gilbert Arenas left a parting gift to Washington by scoring 20 points (just in case he’s traded by the time this post is up). Where does Amare rank on the MVP race? He’s at least in the top-3 in my book, rounded out by Dirk and D-Will. Maybe Rondo should be thrown in there somewhere in the top-10, there is no way you can deny shooting 53% from the field, dishing 46 assists in the last three games, and making Shaq-a-Claus look like he could play for another year or two.

This is why I never give advice to youngsters: they just might take it. Derrick Rose led the running of the Bulls with 29 points and 9 assists as they beat the Lakers. Not to exaggerate, but the last time Chicago beat LA we were all watching Titanic on double VCR tapes (and watching a very different Rose, too). The Bulls held off a late rally thanks to a 26-13 bench points advantage as well as superior (47%) three-point shooting, holding the Lakers to a season-low 84 points. Kobe has 23 in the loss but needed 23 shots to reach it, while Gasol followed up with 21. Carlos Boozer a.k.a. “The People’s Eyebrow” had 10 points and 11 rebounds while Korver led the three-point assault with 13 off the bench. Rose brought the dagger with a 15-footer as the shot clock expired to pull his team ahead by five points with 25.2 seconds to play. Is it time to start worrying about the Lakers? I had them sleep-walking through the regular season but now that San Antonio, Dallas, and Utah are leading the west, this puts some pressure on the champs . At least this will hopefully make for a competitive March and April as teams fight for home court in the western conference finals. I don’t see OKC or the Hornets sneaking into the top 4 so I’m going to go with the Spurs, Lakers, Mavs, then Jazz. Who you got?

Is Russell Westbrook the most important player for the Thunder? It seems like each time Durant has an off-night or even an average night, Westbrook steps in and keeps his team in the game. Russ had 29 points and 10 assists to Durant’s 25 points as the Thunder beat the Hornets. Another bright spot for the young Thunder came as Serge Ibaka showed off his offensive prowess en route to an 18-point, 9-rebound night. For New Orleans, David West did his damage early with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Paul finished with 18 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Westbrook delivered the dagger, a three-point play to give the Thunder a six-point lead with 1:41 to play. Belinelli/Rambo body double missed a game-tying three-point attempt with 10 seconds to go.

Kevin Love had 27 points and 18 rebounds (what a slacker, couldn’t even give us a 20-20 game) in a forgettable win over the Pistons. Free agent gold mine Luke Ridnour held Minnesota down with 20 points and 10 assists, including 3-of-5 from three-point land. Rip Hamilton raised his trade value by scoring 26 points as Detroit wasted a 13-point lead, being outscored 58-26 in the paint. Darko made his presence felt with 7 rejections, he now leads the league in blocks. Why is no one talking about this?!

Whatever they’re drinking in San Antonio, I want some. The Spurs kept their best record in tact with an easy win over the Hawks. With all five starters in double figures, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson led the Spurs with 18 apiece, solidified by DeJuan “Heavy D” Blair’s 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 23 points, who are now 2-6 against teams with winning records.

A big night from the Aussie big-man meant a win for the Bucks over the Rockets. Andrew Bogut had 24 points, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocks in his fourth 20-20 game of his career. The Rockets went a good seven minutes without a field goal late in the game despite Kevin Martin’s 23 points. Bogut on the boards means a rebounding advantage for Milwaukee which gives the team a better chance at a transition game with long outlet passes. Good to see the Bucks finally rounding out in form, getting their shooting back on track and reaching closer towards their potential.

The Blazers made it four in a row with a win over the Suns. Brandon Roy led Portland with 26 and Marcus Camby took his slingshot jumper to Phoenix while scoring 16 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. As the Blazers are usually over-reliant on jumpers, they held a two-point edge in points scored in the paint and connected on most of their jumpers to lead the Suns in double digits throughout most of the night. Phoenix was led by Nashty’s 24 points and 5 assists, in a game where it would have been more useful to turn off the “defense” setting on the video game and watch each team shoot until the final buzzer sounds.

The Magic continued their downward slide in a blowout loss versus the Jazz. Deron Williams scored a season-high 32 points but it was CJ Miles who took the scoring load in the 4th, dropping 19 of his final 26 late in the game. I didn’t believe it at first, but if the Jazz keep playing tough as nails they are becoming more legit in an increasingly open western conference. For the Magic, Jameer Nelson had 19 points and 10 assists and Bass made use of his starter’s minutes with 18 but the team overall needs more than a cosmetic overhaul. I couldn’t believe the results of yesterday’s Polladaday where most believed the Magic would be fine in the long term. Unless the hidden writing was that Lewis is transformed into his contract-year self and takes Vince Carter with him. Why is White Chocolate getting so many technicals? Someone tell him that the veteran’s minimum doesn’t cover fines before he is forced to sell junk retirement plans to seniors in Florida.

The biggest challenge for the Heat was not whether they could get the win over the Warriors, but who would get the triple double first. Wade led Miami with 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists while LeBron spread his talents around with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Miami are starting to click and are now rolling on a season-high 7-game win streak, dominated the Warriors on the boards and killed them on fast-break points. Monta Ellis had 20 points and 7 assists but this one was over before the first substitutions. Final thought: when LeBron attends Bosh’s wedding, he will be the best man in every way possible.

As many of you know, Antoine Walker is now in the D-League. How is he doing? About as well as his neutral facial expression: sad. The Shimmy expert has recently been quoted as saying that “My dream is to play in the NBA”, which sounds more desperate than noble. As I watched ‘Toine air-ball a free throw in the D-League, I saw his career rise and fall with that basketball. As Shea Cotton said, “the ball stops bouncing a lot sooner than you think”.

The rules of basketball have now literally been sold out. James Naismith’s (shout out to Canada!) original 13 rules for the game of basketball have been sold for $4.4 million. I don’t mean to disappoint you all, but ever since the bottom of the peach basket has been cut out, the points never counted. Per rule 8: “a goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there.” No word on whether the buyer plans to re-sell the rules to Stern for imperial modifications.

WHAT: Team Jordan Athlete CARMELO ANTHONY celebrates the launch of the JORDAN BRAND MELO M7 performance shoe with a special Q&A hosted by NY personality Boobie Smooth, including local community organizations and children.

Carmelo Anthony is a forward for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and has been a Team Jordan athlete since his rookie season in 2003-2004. Anthony is one of only three Team Jordan athletes to have his own signature collection and 2010 marks the release of his seventh signature shoe, the JORDAN MELO M7.

The JORDAN MELO M7 is the ultimate performance basketball shoe, taking its inspiration from Melo’s dominance and versatility, on and off the court. Known for his explosiveness and tenacity on the court, but also for his smooth personality off the court, the MELO M7 represents the marriage of technology and fashion, creating the ultimate performance basketball shoe.

The shoe was released on November 20 nationwide and is available for a suggested retail price of $130.

Two things jump out, at least to this layman’s eyes: the team’s operating income, which in 2008 was a $6.4 million loss and in 2009 was a $5.9 million gain (slide 10), though that latter figures includes $3.4 million in revenue assistance from the NBA (slide 27); and the team’s net cash in operating activities, which represents the “measurement of money [owner George Shinn] is being asked to take out of his pocket to keep operations going,” according to sports economist Andrew Zimbalist. In 2008, that amount was $7.4 million; in 2009, $1.4 million (slide 12). Zimbalist points out that “things got much more problematic for the franchise” the following year.

Also of note: As of June 30, 2009, the partners’ deficit totaled $83 million (slide 13). The team’s share of national broadcast rights payments was $26 million in 2008 and $28 million in 2009 (slide 27). And in 2008, the Hornets were told they had received revenue-sharing money in error for the 2005-06 season — $2.8 million, by the looks of it (slide 27). The money was paid back in 2009.

The League says there’s no rush to sell the team, but looking at the finances, it’s not exactly an asset that moneyed buyers will be rushing out to bid on.

On the bright side: the New Orleans Hornets are good this year; shockingly good. Assuming they make it into the postseason, that valuable source of income should help the franchise’s bottom line, perhaps making it look good enough for a prospective buyer.

After last night’s snooze-fest, I mini-hyped this match-up but was treated to a complete team victory by the Heat over the Hawks on the third day of LeBronukkah. The Big 2.7 (Bosh moving on up!) looked as comfortable as can be this season, each picking their spots and doing so effectively. Bosh scored 27 points on 55% shooting and grabbed 10 boards in the process, Wade added 26 points and 10 rebounds, and James had 22 points and 7 rebounds. Overall, this is what Heat fans (they still exist, right?) have been hoping for – combining the strengths of two point seven superstars into one unstoppable force. Jumping out to an early lead as much as 17 until Atlanta went on an 8-2 run and kept hitting shots to make it a two point game heading into the fourth. The Big 2.7 combined for 75 of Miami’s 89 points, finishing the Hawks off with a follow dunk by LeBron and a jumper by Chalmers. The Heat have finally started to run more, with a showing of 23 fast-break points versus Atlanta’s 9, and winning the battle inside with a 12-points in the paint advantage. Al Horford led the Hawks with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Anyone else notice how LeBron’s hairline wants to hang out with Joel Anthony’s hairline more and more? In case you’re wondering, alluding to athletes usually doesn’t work in the real world, as evidenced by my beef with a barista over choosing a coffee (What should I do? Should I stop going for the whipped cream? It’s my whipped cream!).

Derrick Rose continued to put his team on his back, leading to an overtime win over the Rockets. Rose had 30 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds, including a clutch three-pointer to send it to OT and an additional five to seal the win in extra minutes for the Bulls. Poor shooters need to watch that shot – that’s called using your legs on your jumper, kids. Did you see that cross-over on Kyle Lowry? Shaking and baking like his name was Ricky Bobby, D-Rose drove it right past the D and finished with his left hand. Oh, and Scola held down Houston with 27 points and 9 rebounds but his squad couldn’t stop the running of the Bulls, especially in overtime. Carlos Boozer was also impressive in his third full game as a Bull, with 25 points and 9 rebounds. If Booz trims his eyebrows, does he lose 6 pounds immediately? Side note but why does Booz’s head always look like it’s been savagely scalped before every game? Speaking of which, Coach Thibbs – you’ve got to shave that thing, quit holding onto the past. Can someone please tell me why Eric Snow has a job in broadcasting, let alone tasked with assisting in highlights? He’s just as boring as his game was, and seems to choke on his words before splurging out the obvious. Bring back Gary Payton immediately, even if people can’t comprehend his street talk half the time, it’s music to everyone’s ears compared to Snow’s bratwurst-grinded-through-your-ears voice.

Coming off a tight game against the Heat (bare with me), the Cavs were re-energized as they entered a shoot-out with the Wolves. Except in this shootout the Wolves had the guns and made the Cavs look like broken Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Minnesota tore apart Cleveland like a pardoned turkey, Love leading the way with 28 points and 19 rebounds. The Wolves hit a franchise-record 18 three-pointers despite playing without Beasley. I refuse to mention any of Cleveland’s “highlights”, since when you lose by 36 without a team’s leading scorer you don’t get compliments. If Thursday night was the often-described “girlfriend coming to the wedding” scenario, last night was “new girlfriend physically abusing you to tears” scenario. If Beasley plays, over/under on a 50-point slaughter? I will say this – I don’t want to see any of you jumping back on the bandwagon when we get Harrison Barnes next year! I’ll be taking mental notes on everyone until the Cavs are competing for a ring. I might need a bigger mental hard drive.

The mess that is the Sixers roster made a turn for the better as the beat the Bobcats. Jodie Meeks took advantage of starter minutes and poured in a career-high 26 points, including 6 three-pointers in the first quarter that eventually tied Allen Iverson’s arena record. Great for Meeks, not such a good look for a certain number two draft pick on the roster. Charlotte was led by Boris Diaw’s 19 points but the team refused to run back on defense through most of the night, despite Larry Brown’s urging pleas to stay off his lawn. Does anyone else find Kwame Brown’s jersey a mockery? He’s running around out there with “K.Brown” on his back – no, it’s not okay, Kwame! Pick up some Better Basketball DVD’s and do something.

You know your nation’s hero is having a great game when you’re getting messages from Aussies when it’s their traditional drinking time (i.e. anytime). Andrew Bogut scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 18 Kevin Love’s (from now on, anytime a player gets more than 15 rebounds, it’s a Kevin Love) as he surged his Bucks over a depleted Magic. Orlando were missing three players due to a stomach virus and were not-so-jokingly worried about suiting up 8 players for the game. Whatever happened to playing through intense sickness? I had a vision of JJ Redick dropping 40 as Vince Carter hugged him off the court, mainly in an attempt to absorb some of his powers. Carter led his team with 20 who were mainly able to keep themselves in the game due to the Bucks’ poor free-throw shooting. Brandon Jennings had his Aussie’s back with 27 points on 50% shooting. Shocking fact of the night: Chris Duhon – still on an NBA roster.

The Mavs made it nine in a row with an escape from Alcatraz/Sacramento. Led by Dirk’s 25 and Terry’s 23 off the bench, Dallas outscored Sac-town 15-4 in the last 5:30 of the game. With Dallas applying airtight pressure, Nowitzki almost stole a pass on the finals Kings possession, while Terry finally stole the turnover and earned the win. Tyreke Evans had an impressive outing with 25 points and 8 assists as did potential cellmate DeMarcus Cousins (17 points, 11 rebounds). Sitting with a two game lead over the Lakers a quarter way through the season, can Dallas keep up their defensive efforts and offensive sharing to have home court over LA if they meet?

If you ask me, that whole Cavs/Heat game was overhyped, at least in terms of fan reaction. According to this report, Cleveland Police obviously had a clear handle on things. Mind if you if Mike Breen was calling the game he’d open verbal assault charges in court against all boo-ers in attendance. Can we please talking about it though? I’m totally over it.

The Hawks were able to turn around a ship of poor effort in a win over the Knicks. Atlanta got out to an early lead and maintained sharp play as they snap New York’s five-game winning streak. Jamal Crawford led the Hawks with 21 points off the bench and was helped by Al Horford’s 17 points and 9 rebounds. As Mike Fratello broke it down, the Knicks made elementary mistakes such as not picking up their defensive assignments after substitutions which further solidified Atlanta’s run game. The Hawks kept their energy levels up, turnovers down, and took advantage of some poor execution on the part of the Knicks. Amar’e finished with 24 points and 10 boards.

Without John Wall in the line-up, Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young were given a very temporary licenses to shoot against the Magic. Arenas and Young combined for 62 points (31 and 21, respectively) in an entirely winnable game for the Wizards. Washington led by one point with 13 seconds to go but Dwight Howard was able to corral a Nelson miss and bank in the game-winning bucket. Howard’s 32 points are a season-high and he should be proud of his offensive advancement, as in previous season the center would be almost demoted to a 4th quarter role player. He also scored the last six points in the game for the Magic.

The Cavaliers fought to another hard-earned win as they defeated the Grizzlies. Mo Williams led all scorers with 25 points, in addition to his 12 assists. Memphis collectively fell apart in the last two quarters, with Zach Randolph limited to 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting. As the Cavs outscored the Grizz 30-16 in the 4th quarter, the momentum swung in their favour and they didn’t look back. Cavs head coach Byron Scott has emphasized a more running approach to the offense, as evident by the Bolt-like drills during training camp which the players have admitted to giving them more lift in the 4th quarter of games. The dividends have begun to pay off as Cleveland took a 24-8 fast-break advantage.

The Sixers were able to win in a rarely convincing manner, topping the Nets. Jrue Holiday led Philly with 20 points and 13 assists while Brook Lopez had a mini break-out game for New Jersey with 25 points and 6 rebounds. The Sixers held off a late surge by the Nets by turning up the tempo of their defense, using the length of Thaddeus Young and Iguodala to lock down the perimeter. Execution wise, the story favoured Philly with 29 team assists and only 5 turnovers.

Who said Monta Ellis is selfish? Ellis had 26 points, 10 assists, 7 steals, and 4 rebounds as he led his Warriors over the Wolves. Golden State shot over 50% from the floor and forced 21 Minnesota turnovers (including 16 steals) on their way to an 8-9 record. David Lee returned from whatever monsters rule Wilson Chandler’s mouth and had a 10 point, 6 rebound night. For the Wolves, Beasley led the team in scoring again with 28 points, and Love added 21points and 22 rebounds. The Warriors dominated from the 3rd quarter onwards, with a 60% shooting in the quarter and capitalizing on lazy passes from the Wolves. Dorrell Wright also had a career-high 30 points (including a franchise-best 9 three-pointers made). With Lee fully healthy, I’m looking forward to what this Golden State team can put together in terms of a playoff push later in the season.

Without Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook switched his Robin mask for a Batman on his way to 31 points and 6 assists and leading his Thunder over the Celtics. Rondo had 14 points and 7 assists but lost the overall point guard battle as he couldn’t handle the athleticism of Westbrook. Both teams shot pretty poorly but the difference came from the Thunder’s hot 3-point shots (67%) and 84% at the charity stripe. A very impressive win for the rising and expectation-laden Zombie Sonics.

The Sixers snapped a 5-game losing streak with a win over the Bucks, led by Thaddeus Young’s 23 points. Corey Maggette led the Bucks with 20 points but the difference maker was the Philly bench, outs-scoring the Bucks 47-32. While Brandon Jennings had an off night (3-of-13 shooting), the Bucks took his leadership and finished with 34% from the field, not giving Milwaukee a chance at a win. I have to say that this inconsistent Bucks team is under-achieving. Bogut is healthy and human Michelin Man stand-in Maggette is getting buckets off the bench like Baron Davis in the offseason at the KFC. Wasn’t this supposed to be a dark horse contender in the east? Milwaukee, if you want us to fear the deer, you have to show us why. As for the Sixers, I think they’ll surprise some people this season. Not in a good way, but surprise them nonetheless.

With a win over Utah, the San Antonio Spurs are on a 9-game winning streak. To put that into perspective, the last time that happened, they still had an asterisk next to their championship trophy. Tim Duncan passed David Robinson to become the Spurs’ all-time leading scorer with his 19 points and 14 rebounds and Tony Parker ran the team with 24 points and 7 assists. The Spurs manhandled the Jazz on the boards (46-31) and made all the key plays down the stretch to halt an always-present Utah comeback. Deron Williams finished with 23 points and 5 assists for the Jazz.
Gregg Popovich on Duncan: “Just go up and down the court and go home and get a sandwich. That’s what he does.” Timmy is one man who deserved that sandwich.

Give the ball to Bargnani and get out of the way. That strategy has historically failed but Andrea dropped 26 points and 6 boards on this night as his Raptors beat the Rockets. Good to see Kleiza’s NBA comeback in full effect, with 17 off the bench. Kevin Martin equalled his season-high with 31 points but his squad couldn’t close the game out. The Rockets were up by one early in the 4th as Martin started the comeback with a layup and some free throws but Bargnani protected the score like his mother’s pasta recipe, going in for a running jumper to push the lead further. If these Raps can establish a more consistent help-defense, they might be able to compete for the 8th seed come April.

With John Wall still sidelined, Gilbert Arenas (24 points) and Kirk Hinrich (22 points) held down the Wizards with a close win over the Grizzlies. Zachory Randolph notched his familiar 19 points and 12 rebounds in Memphis’ 5th straight loss. Trailing by 4 with 8 minutes to play, Arenas and Hinrich fist-bumped each other and went to work, scoring the following 12 points for the Wizz and playing off each other with easy looks. Andray Blatche (17 points, 9 boards) solidified the win with a 3-point play.

If the Heat play at home but no one shows up, does the game still exist? This philosophical thought lingered in my mind throughout the night Miami held off a resilient Bobcats squad. With D3 (Sorry Dwyane, but this nickname is not catching on. At all) batting the flu and no plans for a flu game, LeBron took an extra long nap to prepare for the gruelling 39 minutes of action, leading the Heat with 32 points, 5 assists, and 2 rebounds (like a Bosh!). This had all the makings of a blowout early but tightened up like Mark Cuban’s t-shirts as Stephen Jackson began to heat up, finishing with 30 points including a three to make it a two point game with just under 5 minutes left. LeTalents then hit a jumper then let his boy Chrissy Bosh “chill” at the free throw line to push the lead up to 5 with 1:07 left. Is it just me or does Boris Diaw’s lack of conditioning makes you believe you can play in the NBA? As much as it’s fun to point out Bosh’s short-comings, he had a season-high 14 boards to go with his 22 points against a resilient team. Coming into this game, Miami ranked last in the league in points in the paint per game (33.6) and percentage of points in the paint (32.2%) and made an effort to change that on this night, including 10 offensive rebounds. It will be interesting to see how the Heat continue to evolve throughout the season in that department.

As I was amping myself up for the Michael Beasley vs. Ron Artest match-up (seriously), I quickly realized the battle was more like Beas against Artest’s reputation for a lock-down defender. I’m not hating on Artest, but his defense was suspiciously more impressive when coupled with Battier’s Jigsaw-like preparation for every game. Regardless, the Lakers ran through the Wolves thanks to Matt Barnes’ perfect shooting night (7-of-7, 24 points). Minny kept it relatively close early on thanks to some defensive work by Darko Milicic (23 points, 16 rebounds, 6 blocks) but couldn’t keep it up as LA’s HOV triangle wore them down with tremendous execution. Kobster ended with 23 points and 8 boards. Beezy finished with 25 points and 10 boards but his league-leading rebounding star Kevin Love only had 7 boards and went scoreless. At the end of the day, the Lakers aren’t looking at you bottom-feeders, they’re looking past you.

You know why no one gives the Magic the respect that this team so desperately needs? Because they’re not true contenders and showed it on this night by escaping with a win over the Nets. Who escapes a win over the Nets?! Jameer Nelson sealed the win for the Magic with 4.1 seconds to go while Dwight Howard went for 16 points and 10 rebounds. Devin Harris rounded out with 26 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds but couldn’t hit some free throws that could have tied that game and his missed layup cost his team the game. Brook Lopez got the better of Howard with 23 points.

Deron Williams obviously didn’t get my Superstar Memo from yesterday because he decided to put away the Bobcats with his ice-cold game-winning floater with 0.8 seconds left. The Jazz played with Jerry Sloan’s blood pressure yet again as they mounted a 4th quarter rally led by Williams’ 17 points and 9 assists. The bright spot for the ‘Cats on this night as Nazr Mohammed had 22 points and 20 rebounds, apparently auditioning for Kevin Love’s upcoming rebounding camp. Stephen Jackson added 24 points but his team couldn’t contain their 16 point halftime lead. In case you’re counting, that’s four straight road games, five in total for the Jazz which has to do wonders for their confidence as the team has been notoriously poor on the road the last couple of seasons. Do you think Millsap saw this coming when he drove Boozer to the airport?

The Cavs suffered back-to-back losses including 4 in a row at home as they fell to the Pacers. Danny Granger scored 34 points in the win against a short-handed Cleveland team, missing All-Star in a different life Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao.Antawn Jamison led the Cavs with 19 points and 9 boards and Ramon Sessions added 17. It would have been nice to see some plays run for JJ Hickson as he was beating anyone on his in the first half but guards dominated the remainder of the game. Also ironic that Ryan Hollins, who was a throw-in for the Sessions deal, is now more productive for the Cavs than Sessions is.

“Man, you should have seen Chris Bosh tonight! He just took over the game against his former team!” This is what most Miami fans would like to be discussing but unfortunately were treated to a milkshake of 12 points and foul trouble. Wade led with 31 and LeBron, who was seen wheeling around an oxygen tank at halftime, managed to get his feeble strength together for 39 minutes of arthritic action. James finished with 23 points, 11 assists, and 3 excuses. The Raptors were hanging around most of the game, with Bargnani dropping 22 and DeRozan adding 21 points and 6 boards. The look on Bosh and Bargn’s face when they two were matched-up against each other was pure joy:

“Oh, Andrea. I have missed your soft tendencies so!”

“Shh, shhh. No words, Christopher – just emotions.”

Post-game, Bosh gave his vote of confidence towards his new team: “That’s one thing we could do, we could shoot the ball,” Bosh said, referring to the Raptors. “When I was in Toronto, we could shoot the ball. We had offense.” Keep it up, Bosh – you’re sure to have dozens of plays called for you soon.

Given yesterday’s news about Brandon Roy’s knee, the reality that the Blazers will continue to struggle health-wise in the future has set in. The Hornets used their improved defense to dominate the game, with David West and Marco Belinelli scoring 18 as Roy exited the game with 6:43 left in the third quarter and didn’t return. Portland made a run that trimmed the 17-point lead to 5 but New Orleans responded with a 16-5 run to finish the game. Nicolas Batum led the Blazers with 16 points and Chris Paul recorded 11 points and 13 assists. The Hornets are still the only undefeated team in the league. What are the odds of that?

Welcome to the NBA, rook. That was the message Derrick Rose had for John Wall as he outplayed his Wizards all night and led his Bulls to the win. Rose scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half and Joakim Noah had 21 points and 9 boards for the Bulls. John Wall injured his foot in the 3rd quarter and ended with 16 points and 6 assists, including this hammer. Gilbert Arenas stepped in and finished with a season-high 30 points, including seven 3-pointers. “I’m just trying to make people fear me on the court,” Rose said after the game. “Being aggressive. Keep on putting pressure on them.” Mission accomplished tonight.

Paul Piece and his Celtics were supposed to take care of business against the Grizzlies, but Memphis had other plans. The C’s had a 4-point lead in the 4th before Gay tied it up with a jumper with 7.3 seconds to play. Boston trailed 11 points before a late-rally and a clutch Ray Allen 3-pointer in overtime led to the win. Gay had 22 points and Zach Randolph finished with 21 points and 11 boards. The most surprising stat has to be Shaquita scoring 18 points after his usual “mailing it in until May” fitness routine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the league will be an empty place without Shaq. Rondo had 11 points and 17 assists, continuing his assist assault, prompting some to question whether he can break Stockton’s 14.5 assist season record. Do you guys think he can do it?

David Lee missed his 2nd straight game with a lodged-elbow-in-Wilson’s-mouth injury, and his Warriors could not contain Salmons leading to a loss. Salmons scored a season-high 26 points, including a key bucket that caused his Bucks to walk away with the win. The Warriors, led by Ellis’ 24 points, made a final run coming within 3 points but Bogut blocked Radmanovic’s beard’s attempt. The Warriors trapped Jennings most of the night and he couldn’t re-create his 55 magic, ending with 19 points.

The Spurs cruised to their 6th straight win with a victory over the Sixers, using Tony “Haugh haugh hauuugh” Parker’s 24 points to surge ahead to a 39-28 first-quarter lead. Jrue Holiday had 16 for the Sixers but could not conjure Jazz-like tendencies to mount on a comeback. San Antonio shot better across the board and got help from outside the Big 3, with George Hill’s 16 off the bench and DeJuan Blair’s 13 points and 12 rebounds. This is already the biggest win streak for the Spurs including last season, leading to one conclusion: you still can’t quite count out the Spurs this season.

Adding on to his outstanding week, Deron Williams dropped 24 points and 10 assists as he led his Jazz over the Hawks. The Jazz outscored the Hawks 27-10 in the 4th quarter while the Hawks gave this one away at the line, going 11-of-21, including 0-of-4 from Horford in 4th. Josh Smith had 20 points, 13 boards, and 5 assists but Paul Millsap’s corner jumper with 1:20 to play completed yet another Jazz comeback story, the 4th consecutive comeback from double digits.

D-Will, what are you doing?! First you have a game-winning layup, then beat the Heat and Magic on a back-to-back, now you’re killing Hawks like it’s hunting season? You’re in clear violation of the 2003 version of the Superstar Handbook. Section 23 clearly states that one must “take off at least 2 games a week in the regular season or can bank up to 3 games to be used during the March-April coast months.” If you keep playing this hard, the Superstar’s Association will have no choice but to ban you from the monthly cocktails at Melo’s place. Note to Melo with regards to next month’s party: the invitation lists a New York address, what’s with that?

Whenever the Thunder and Blazers meet up, there’s sure to be an explosive yet close game and this one did not disappoint. The Blazers ended the 3rd quarter with a 7-0 run and took that momentum into the 4th, starting off with a Fernandez 3-pointer, a drawn charge, then Roy drawing a foul within minutes. The Thunder responded with a few jumpers before Miller came into the game and started to dictate the Blazers’ offense. Nothing gets more old school than ‘Dre pump faking, shooting, and then tipping in his own miss. Jeff Van Gundy: “I’m gonna lose my mind if I see another player go for Andre Miller’s pump fake. Are they not watching?!”

But then Westbrook does what he usually does late in games: take over. Slicing through the zone defense and drawing fouls before handing it off to Durant for back-to-back-to-back buckets as the Thunder took a 105-100 lead with 1:42 to go. This game seemed eerily similar to the last meeting where the Blazers lost the game in crunch time, being on the receiving end of a 21-7 run. A frantic ending included Rudy missing a wide-open three-pointer that would have tied the game. Think the Frail Blazers aren’t cursed? Elliot Williams had surgery on his right knee…only to be announced that he would need another surgery on his left knee 6 weeks later. The good news is that Joe Przybilla is set to return on Tuesday. Westbrook finished with 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists while his Batman dropped 34. Roy led the Blazers with 24. Mark Jackson’s insight into Westbrook: “He’s one of those guys…you have to guard.” How, Mark? Just tell us how?!

Brad Miller’s game-high 23 points and 8 boards secured the win as the Rockets edged the Pacers. Basically, if Granger doesn’t shoot well, the Pacers don’t win. Danny shot 7-of-18 while James Posey had 19 points (5-of-8 from three) off the bench. Luis Scola held down Houston’s always-vacant frontcourt with 16 points and 9 boards. Genius idea: while Yao’s out for a week with a foot injury, LeBorn should demand Riley to trade Arroyo for the right to use Adelman’s 24-minute plan.

The Bobcats continued to claw their way to .500 using Gerald Wallace’s 25 points and 14 boards over the Wizards. Despite turning the ball over more times (24) than a Megadeth touring line-up, ‘Cats severely out-rebounded the Wiz (48 to 30) and earned their W with a 10-0 run in the 4th quarter. John Wall had 13 points and 11 assists but couldn’t find his shot while Andray Blatche added 22 points and 9 boards. The rest of the team played like Gilbert Arenas did something nasty in their shoes. Slightly relevant stat of the night: Wall joined Oscar Robertson as the only players with at least 7 assists in each of their first 6 career games.

As I was surfing through the games last night, I was impressed by Kevin Love’s 16 points and 19 boards…and it was only the 3rd quarter. Love recorded the first 30-30 game since Moses Malone in 1982, finishing with 31 points and 31 rebounds in a win for this Wolves. To put that further in perspective, the Grizzlies have two centers with fewer rebounds than Love had on this night while CBS Sports took the liberty of reminding everyone who hasn’t had 31 boards all season. In 10 and a half minutes of action, the Knicks blew a 21-point lead and couldn’t recover while Beasley was beasting himself, shooting 55% en route to a 35 point night. Lost Jonas brother Danilo Gallinari led the Knicks with 25. So ladies, if you’re suffering through a break-up and need K-Love’s comfort, wait in line. There are likely 30 people ahead of you.

Don’t look now but the Raptors are actually an entertaining team. Particularly DeMar DeRozan, who is continuing it put it all together and become of the rising young stars in the league. DeRozan played great defense, covering the floor quickly and closing out shooters as if the Second Amendment was about to be repealed. Double D (that’s his official nickname form here on out) scored 13 in the 4th quarter, finishing with 26 points and 7 boards.

Jameer Nelson had 23 points and 8 assists for the Magic and Pietrus ties it up with a clutch three pointer with 28.8 seconds to go. Sonny Weems came right back with a three of his own after Jarrett Jack did his best LeIso impersonation and a solid high-screen from Bargs. Jose Calderon stole the next inbounds pass, got fouled, and sealed the game for the Raps. Interestingly for the Magic, Stan Van Gundy found the courage to break free of his standard substitutions and have Bass in for Lewis for the majority of the fourth. Why? Probably that he needed a defensive presence and rebounder in addition to the ability to make shots. You know, what a power forward should be. The Magic have lost 2 in a row and sit behind Boston in the East.

Besides Deshawn Stevenson starting which warranted more than a few double-takes, the intrigue ended there as the Mavs handled their business with a win over the Sixers. Thaddeus Young had 17 off the bench but his team wasn’t able to stop Dallas’ balanced attack, with 4 starters in double figures and JJ Barea had a season-high 19 points off the bench. Jason Kidd passes his way to over 11,000 assists, second all-time behind some Stockton guy.

Despite looking the best he has looked on the court in a week, DeMarcus Cousins (9 points, 7 boards) and Tyreke Evans (18 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists) were not able to stop the Suns’ run-and-shoot-whenever-you-feel-like offense as the Kings suffered their 4th straight loss . Nashty led the madness with 28 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds (sorry Bosh) and Hakim Warrick added 18 off the bench. It was a special day for Nash in more than one way as his wife gave birth to his first son earlier in the day. Congrats, Nash! A play date has been scheduled with Amar’e, who will roll off the screen and dunk the diaper into the dispenser.

The Clippers and Pistons needed some extra time to settle their battle, with Detroit escaping with the win. Twitter bully Villanueva carried his team with 30 points off the bench while Eric Gordon scored 28 for the Clips. The Pistons had a 9-0 run in overtime to earn their first road win of the season. Blake Griffin had a monster game with 18 points and 18 rebounds, but it did not impress Kevin Love in the slightest.

The fallout from the Heat game continues to rain down like Ray Allen’s threes. Due to the American Airlines Arena being about as full as a Cavs playoff game in 2002, the Heat organization is now telling its fans how to be fans. Wait, really?! Really. On the Heat’s website, the team released a statement telling fans how to “Fan Up”. Apparently having two of the greatest players in the game is not enough to convince fans to show up. As usual, NBA fans are relentless against the Heat but the truth is the truth.

In other news, The John Wall dance is quickly catching on, with the Cowboys and soccer player Omar Gonzalez getting into the action.

Sign of the globalized world we live in: There’s a 14-year old 7 footer in India being dubbed the next Yao Ming. Great, now our coveted new generation of frail centers are being outsourced to India. Also, not so sure “ready to follow in Yao’s footsteps” is a good headline to give this kid some love.

The Raptors face the Heat tonight while the Hornets try to remain the only undefeated team in the league as they take on the Blazers.

Dwight Howard (22 points, 8 boards) and the Magic held on to their lead despite a late rally by the Bobcats. Part-time bodybuilder and under-achiever Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and Orlando acted like he used his length to save various distraught cats in trees. Stan Van Gundy: “”Rashard hit big shots for us tonight. It was nice to see him get out there and have a break out night for us. That’s what we needed tonight.” Yes, when you pay a man $118M, that’s the kind of thing that’s expected every night. Gerald Wallace is solidifying his All-Star status every game, with 25 points and 14 boards in this game to lead his team. Nonetheless, a 1-5 start is disappointing to a Playoff team and here’s hoping the ‘Cats turn it around in time for May. Stephen Jackson’s lay-up made it a one-point game but Charlotte missed a pair of threes for the knockout punch. Jason Williams contributed while shooting 50 percent from distance (1-of-2, but still…). Is it me or did Vince Carter have the weirdest looking injury in sports? That almost looked self-inflicted, VC.

Fuelled by a hot-shooting Mo Williams (28 points), the Cavs won back-to-back road games as they beat the Wizards. Mo scored 10 of his 28 in the last 4 minutes of the game and Daniel Gibson (19 points) wrapped up the win with a clutch 3 pointer. Now that he has more playing time, Gibs is out to show the world that he isn’t afraid to take clutch shots.Al Thorton had 23 points for the Wizards and John Wall struggled once again, finishing with 13 points, 10 assists, but also 6 turnovers. It was a close game down the stretch, a Kirk Hinrich 3-pointer gave the Wizards a 2-point lead before succumbing to a 10-0 run by the Cavs. Gilbert Arenas overcame his real and imaginary injuries to score 13 off the bench. If you want to point fingers, I’d say Flip taking out Thorton for Arenas was a mistake considering Al had some serious momentum in the game. The highlight of the night was definitely Wall sprinting down the court for a dunk, all in 2.1 seconds before the halftime buzzer. Antawn Jamison missed his third straight game with a sore knee, and unfortunately could not get either team to trade him during the course of the game. Note to David Stern: if the playoffs started today, the Cavs would play the Heat in the first round. Make it happen.

The much-anticipated Nets/Heat re-match had so much hype going into this game that the American Airlines Arena was nearly filled up to ¼ capacity. The Heataliers tried to make fans forget about their loss to the Hornets last night by providing highlight play after highlight play in an easy win over the Nets. Wade led his team in scoring again with 29 points and 10 boards, while LeBron (23 points, 9 assists) scored 14 of his 23 in the 3rd quarter. Terrance Williams decided to send LeBron’s talents to South Beach with a hard flagrant foul that sent James in the photographers and stands. Post-game, LeBron’s swag levels were checked to be above-average, as usual: “It didn’t send much of a message,” James said, “because we went on an 8-0 run after that.” Got to love Big Z being the first player to run over to LeBron, always has his back. Anthony Morrow led the Nets with 25 points but a victory is hard to come by when the Heat are locked in defensively and have a chip on their shoulder. Slightly relevant stat of the night: last night was Jerry Stackhouse’s 900th game. I present to you the coveted Tony Hawk award – congrats Stack!

Chris Paul is the best…okay, I’ll drop it. A night after running circles around the Heat, CP3/MVP led his Hornets with a franchise-best 6-0 start after a well-earned win over the Bucks. David West took his talents to 17 feet and shot 83%(10-of-12) en route to 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 14 boards but the Bucks couldn’t get anything going, shooting 38% on the night. You know you’re in for a long night when Drew Gooden has a better shooting percentage than your shooting guard.

The winless Rockets are now off to the worst franchise start(0-5) since 1999 after a tough overtime loss to the Spurs. In fact, I think even some Nets are laughing at their fortunes. Tony Parker took down his “For Sale” sign in front of his house just in time as he had 21 points and 14 assists, with 7 of those points in overtime. Aaron Brooks did not play the 2nd half after landing on Ginobili’s floppy foot and the Rockets could not recuperate. Manu led the Spurs with 28 points while Duncan was pre-programmed for 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Rockets had a few chances to win in regulation but Courtney Lee missed a pair of free throws and Ishmael Smith missed a runner with 2.8 seconds left. Ginobili had such a smooth step-back jumper to send it to overtime that I “ooh”-ed the entire commercial break. This is a tough situation in Houston, on one hand you’d like to keep Yao as healthy as possible over the course of the season. On the other, your team can’t find ways to win games without running the offense through him so far. Let’s hope the Rockets figure it out soon because they’re much, much better than this.

Despite being short-handed and having a Kate Moss-thin frontcourt, the Nuggets were able to get the win with Melo scoring 27 points. Denver shot 62% (13-of-21) from 3, out-duelling the Mavs’ shooters (4-of-15) as Dallas had 21 turnovers to seal their fate. The Dirkster was shut out of the 4th quarter as he turned it over 5 times, finishing with 23 halftime points. Jason Terry had 26 points for the Mavs but Denver’s bench stepped up, out-scoring Dallas 40-19 in the win.

Sigh. Don’t give up hope yet, Clippers. Soon enough Baron Davis will be traded and Bledsoe/Griffin will become the best 1-2 punch in the league. Leading early, the Clippers blew a 16-point halftime lead and took the Jazz to double overtime before having their hopes crushed yet again. Deron Williams had a season-sigh 30 points to go with 8 boards and 7 assists while Millsap and Jefferson had strong games with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 18 points and 10 boards, respectively. Rasul Butler tied the game at 107 with a three before Williams went coast-to-coast for the game-winning lay-up. Eric Gordon led the Clips with 27 points and Blake Griffin added 16 points and 17 rebounds. If he’s not in the dunk contest this year, heads will roll. Well, mostly eyes will roll considering how lame it was last year.

Seriously, basketball gods? Is it just me or is it too early for the Blazers to be short-handed? After several reports saying that Marcus Camby would not play due to migraines, I was ready to e-mail out an open casting call to anyone above 6’8” to play C for Portland. Marcus ended up playing as the Blazers comfortably beat the Raptors, led by Roy’s 26 points. Toronto were visibly tired from playing the Lakers last night, as evident by their 1-for-17 shooting from distance. Jarrett Jack has 16 for the Raps but the team looked about as active as Hedo Turkoglu after a late-night pizza binge. Batum is coming into his own as an elite defender and offensive player, with 20 points and 50% shooting and LaMarcus Aldridge is showing more consistency with 22 and 10, and showed off his left-handed jump hook which he worked all summer on. Marcus Camby on his migraines: “I just tried to get a lot of rest. Be in a dark room with an ice pack on my head. I didn’t want to leave LA on the court by himself tonight, so I gave the team what I had.” Pure class.

The Grizzlies used their length to force twenty turnovers on their way to a win over the Kings. Sacramento could not stop Rudy Gay (32 points, 9 boards) and their zone defense actually helped Memphis’ solid shooting and penetration. Tyreke Evans had 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists but his backcourt mate couldn’t offer enough firepower to keep the Grizz honest on close-outs. DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench for the first time and was ineffective as a reserve, finishing the night with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. I know it will be the steepest of hills to climb, but coming into this game, Mike Conley is the only other player besides Chris Paul to average at least 15 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. He finished the night with 14 points, 5 assists, and 3 boards. Oh, who am I kidding? We talkin ’bout Mike Conley, man!

By the way, if you’re ever wondering why Gregg Popovich has Manu Ginobili in the game during crunch time – wonder no more. Because he’s Manu Ginobili.

So does Amar’e deny stashing the Asbestos? Or was he holding it for someone else? By the way, does anyone know what will happen to the Magic/Knicks game that was cancelled this week? If I were the Commissioner, I’d put up 3 minutes on the game clock, give the Magic a 25-point lead and see what happens from there. That sounds realistic enough anyway.

Oh and one more thing – James the Balla is leaving Monday morning for his tour of duty. I’m not sure if he’ll have time to step by The Post Up tomorrow, but just in case I wish for your safe and swift return. Also, I heard if you wear a Gilbert Arenas jersey over the body armour you become invincible. Don’t take my word for it though, maybe you should Google it before you go.

After proudly proclaiming his MVP ambitions, Derrick Rose caught himself in some thorns among discussions for this year’s award. With his team playing like bull, Rose tied his career high and seemed to do what he liked on this night – including this ridiculous shot. The Bulls were behind as much as 21 points before outscoring the Pistons 24-9 in the 4th quarter for their first win of the year. Ben Gordon scored 21 points but got his Mr. Freeze on, going scoreless the rest of the game. Joakim Noah (15 points, 17 rebounds) gave Chicago their first lead since the first quarter with a tip-in of Rose’s shot and they never looked back since. Fast don’t lie, but it does score. Rodney Stuckey added 18 points and 7 assists for the Pistons.

Atlanta took advantage of their athletic line-up to beat the Wizards in their home opener. John Wall shook off the rust of his debut and game one hell of an encore: 28 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. Blazing through the Hawks’ lethargic backcourt, Wall made lighting fast cuts and effective shots all night but also had a few rookie mistakes like driving headfirst into traffic like he had VIP tickets to a block party. Rose and Jennings had similar mistakes their rookie seasons but are now working around through it. Head up, Wall-y. Joe Johnson began on the long, slow climb to earn his $119M contract while scoring 14 of his 25 points in the 4th quarter. Al Horford continues his All-Star campaign with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Diet LeBron put the brakes on his NASCAR tryouts and put the pedal down on the court–Tyreke had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists as his Kings edged the Cavs. Omri Casspi stroked it like a Trekkie on a Saturday night, connecting on 6 of 7 three pointers, finishing with 20 points. The Kings climbed back from a 14-point deficit at halftime and plugged the lane with Samuel Dalembert to earn their lead going into the 4th quarter. Sessions had 21 for the Cavs and Gibson added 20 points and 7 assists off the bench as their comeback attempts proved futile in the 4th quarter. If only they had a 6’8”, 265 pound small forward to close out games with. I know, crazy talk. After the game, I sent numerous e-mails to JJ Hickson to stop drinking 7 Red Bulls before every game. JJ – they don’t literally give you wings, but they do make you more jittery than David Khan around draft time. Considering your stone hands, that’s not a good combination. Plus, you crash really hard from those sweet drinks – I could see it when you let Cousins dunked on you even though you had plenty of time to take the charge. Caron Butler needs to start a 12-step quitting program for you. Alas, the Christian Eyenga saga has commenced in Cleveland.

Chris Paul is the best point guard in the league. Just in case that didn’t get through the first time. Saying this Hornets team is over-achieving is like saying Tupac was an okay rapper. CP3’s 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists contributed to a close win over the Spurs. Tim Duncan v.1 was in for repairs so Ginobli notched up 23 points, 6 assists, and 8 killed bats in the losing effort.

Gus Johnson was right – his name IS Al Harrington, and he DOES get buckets. In just under 30 minutes of action, Harrington put up 28 points and 10 rebounds on a white-hot shooting night (5 of 8 from deep). Melo grudgingly punched his time clock card with 24 points while Scola continued his footwork dominance with 28 points and 10 boards. The Yao Ming 24 minute plan is not supposed to produce monster regular season results and his 14 points and 6 boards doesn’t exactly make you scream obscenities that would get censored by the Chinese government. Is it just me or does Kevin Martin’s shot look extremely block-able?

The Grizzlies, led by OJ Mayo’s 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, helped the Wolves notch another L in their stat sheet. Memphis used crisp ball movement to keep the Wolves at bay, who shot 35% from the field. Rudy Gay added 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists while Ellington ended up being the least horrible shooter, leading the team with 15 points.

Brandon Jennings’ 20-point 10-assist 10-rebound triple double helped his squad defeat the Bobcats and earn their first win of the season. Delfino connected on 5 of 11 threes to help seal the victory for the Bucks. Though Stephen Jackson and DJ Augustin (26 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) helped keep their team in the game, the Bucks out-rebounded and out-executed the ‘Cats down the stretch.

Opening their season at home, the Pacers leaned on their franchise Granger (22 points) and new point guard Darren Collison (15 points, 4 assists, 4 steals) to force the Sixers into an 0-3 start. Though Lou Williams provided a much-need scoring punch (18 first-half points), Indiana kept the Sixers away thanks to Granger’s solid shooting, Hibbert’s rebounding and shot-altering presence, and Collison’s ability to wreak havoc in the passing lanes and ignite the fast break. Useless stat of the night: 69 hustle plays. Apparently the Pacers staff keep a statistic which tracks only hustle plays like steals, drawing chargers, and offensive rebounds. That’s going a little too far for my taste, just play hard all game, fellas. Just a few days after stating that he may be over his head with his team, is Doug Collins on his way out regardless?

Portland kept their undefeated streak alive with a late win over the Knicks. Starting off the game with hot shooting from the Blazers, the Knicks consistently crept their way back into the game, tying it going into the 4th quarter but couldn’t hang on to a 9 point lead with 5:30 remaining. Not a good look when your $100M dollar man grabs fewer boards than a role player. Amare (28 points, 5 boards) looked aggressive at times but was often double-teamed and swarmed late in the game as Portland mixed up man to man with zone defense, leading to steals and disrupting New York’s offensive flow. Wilson Chandler (22 points) kept the Knicks competitive as he cut through the thin Portland backcourt and hit spot up 3’s. Brandon Roy’s team-high 29 points were not the most crucial part of the game. Andre Miller brought his “old man at the YMCA” game and proved himself to be the most important Trail Blazer on this night with 19 points, 10 assists, and clever, on-point passes all night. He must be related to Big Z because his vertical is a solid 0.2”.

Not sure if it’s failing to meet expectations these past 2 years but I’m not feeling very confident about the internal workings of this team. Case in point: Andre “Knick Killer” Miller was taken out with 1:23 remaining, even though he was clearly the engine behind Portland’s comeback. Who was the point in his absence? Roy, of course. This seemed very strange not to have a second playmaker with the game on the line (I call Nate McMillan caving into Roy’s ball-dominant complaints). Along with Rudy Fernandez checking in on weather conditions in Spain on his iPhone during time-outs, I don’t think the Blazers are as close-knit as some might believe. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a hit-and-miss game. I have started a sophisticated tracking system for his career this season: for every game where he gets into the paint and settles for jumpers less, he gets a notch in a “dominant PF” column. For every game that he doesn’t, he gets a notch in a “Sheed” column. On this night, he did try to mix it up but overall did not look comfortable in the post, let alone grabbing critical rebounds. Are you above 6’7”? You probably could have helped the Blazers rebound on this night. A final bright spot for this team was Batum, with excellent perimeter defense and smart shot selection. The Blazers also showed signs of mixing up the offensive sets, opting for a faster pace when the game called for it, and multiple screens to free up the shooters.
In case you were wondering, the legend that is Timofey Mozgov was not seen on this night.

So I’m pretty connected with the Cavs organization and after learning that Mike Brown is now a junior high football coach, I made some calls to get some insight into the sort of offense he installs. Apparently their quarterback if the best player by far and the rest of the team is comprised of either one-trick role players or over-the-hill faux all stars. Anyway, here’s an excerpt from his playbook:

“Play 1: Give the ball to QB, everyone else get out of the way. Including linebackers, they just take up too much space.

Play 2: Give the ball to QB, hold it for 20 seconds. Wide receivers sprint to end zone and wait for the pass, not moving an inch.

Play 3: Fake handoff to running back, QB moves out of the pocket and heaves a throw through the goalposts. That counts a field goal, right?

Play 4: I uhhh…can’t we just stick to the first three?

Note to self: Congradulate QB after the play is made to make it appear as though I played a part in his success.”

By the way, if anyone received lewd texts from me today, relax. I am going as Brett Favre tonight for Halloween, equipped with a Vikings jersey, camera phone, and no pants. What’s your costume for tonight? The ghost of Iverson’s career? Let us know.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/post-up-bouquet-of-buckets/feed/27SLAMonlineVideo: New Season is Upon Us, Folks Get Hype!http://www.slamonline.com/media/slam-tv/video-new-season-is-upon-us-folks-get-hype/
http://www.slamonline.com/media/slam-tv/video-new-season-is-upon-us-folks-get-hype/#commentsWed, 27 Oct 2010 18:29:17 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=96616

As you might have figured out by now, there’s nowhere better to get caught up on the newest and most important hoops news (and find great features, in-depth interviews, and plenty more) than SLAMonline.com. It’s what we do. But what we haven’t been able to provide you with, until now, is a place to check all the latest game updates. And we’re changing that.

Starting tonight, a scoreboard—equipped with real-time updates of the ongoing and latest games, including box scores—will be visible on top of our homepage. It’s not yet a polished and clean product, but we wanted to launch it for the start of the NBA season. Expect upgrades in the coming weeks.

No longer do you have to swing by other media outlets before coming to SLAMonline to read up on what’s going on in the League and discuss the latest happenings—you can come straight here. Of course, The Post Up will be bringing you recaps every morning, and our daily content will be as on-point as ever, but now we’ll have up-to-the-second info, 24/7. Not that you guys needed another reason to hang around here every day and night, but here’s a damn good one.

The world as we know it today has a menacing aura. Without thinking about it, every day we face constant threats of terrorism, nuclear war, crime, and disease. Globally, the economic crisis has brought nations to its knees, with a slow and painful recovery the only option for the luckiest among us. While attempting to protect us, governments have not put aside partisan agendas to aid the middle class, or if it’s politically in fashion, the poorest of the poor. Permeating this mindset, a religious debate has polarized, confused, and angered many proponents on either side as each subsequent holy book seemingly urging their extremist followers to force Armageddon on this Earth.

On a local level, NBA players have not been immune. From Arenas’ guns to “protect (his) family”, Tyreke’s run-ins (or drive-ins) with the law, and Delonte entering the mercenary business, athletes are increasingly looking over their shoulders. It seems like no matter how successful an urban athlete gets, there’s always negative forces trying to pull them down.

How do we deal with all of this? To take every precaution against every threat will surely drive the most rational man to madness. Some prefer not to think about these realities, some derive strength from their family, and others? Well, others just want to turn on the TV…

*The stage is set. Inside a brilliantly illuminated Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, the Figure sits in the center of a small stage, bathed in gold light as various assistants and camera crews bend to his every whim. The room is bursting with light glitter, a perfect marriage of marble, crystal, and gold. A crowd of fifty, meticulously groomed, sit behind him and Witness the preparations. Draped in a red casual checked shirt, jeans, Men in Black “when-did-these-come-back-in-fashion?” shades, and impressive facial hair, the Figure grins.*

An assistant, covering his few imperfections with a base layer of blush, comments: “You look good, sir.” An eternity of waiting and a small nod later, the Figure co-signs: “I know this.” Turning his head towards the cameras, he bellows: “Hey! What kinda cameras are those?” An intern squirms past camera crews and nervously sputters the answer: “Umm…the ones that add 15 pounds of muscle. Just like you requested, sir.” Without acknowledgment, the Figure breaks away from his media handlers to greet his guest.

Figure: “Yo Ryne, glad you made it man.”

Ryne: “No doubt. How’s it going, what’s with all this?”

Figure: “Ah, you know I gotta do me. You’re actually just in time for a pretty big announcement.”

Ryne: “No way, can I listen?”

Figure: “Listen?! You’re staying on set with me.”

A director informs him that he’s due on the air in 2 minutes. The Figure commands back: “Gimmie 10. By the way, who’s interviewing me again?” The director, puzzled from the question responds: “The same guy you’ve been talking to for the last 55 minutes. Ric Boucher from ESPN.”

Through his dark shades and without hesitation, the Figure spots Ric feasting on a hot dog from across the room. “Hey, Douche-er! You better enjoy that hot dog cause you’re fired!”

Before finishing his meal, the journalist is immediately escorted by three large security personnel, one of whom wags a finger while he drags him to the lobby.

Ryne: “Whoa, is that Deke?!”

Figure: “He’s my head of security, don’t worry ‘bout it.”

Ryne: “So it’s cool that I interview you? I mean I feel kind of bad for Ric…”

Figure: “Relax, he’s probably interviewing Kobe in the lobby.”

The director arranges the stage and motions for the cameras to prime their target: “we’re on in 5…4…3…”

Ryne: “Welcome back! So what’s new since the last time I saw you?”

Anton: “Well, I got sponsored by Humbling Insurance Co. I’m actually contractually obligated to say the word ‘humble’ at least 3 times in every interview.”

Ryne: “You’re kidding, right?”

Anton: “Humble.”

Ryne, after sighing heavily: “We’re just about ready to hear our guest of honour’s big announcement. Anton, the answer to the question everybody wants to know – what’s your Decision?”

Anton: “Um, in this fall…Man, this is very tough. In this fall I’m going to take my talents to SLAM online and do weekend game recaps for the Post Up.”

Ryne: “Wow! What do you say to the commenters?”

Anton: “Well, first of all I just want to say what a humbling experience it will be. I think I spoil a lot of people with my comments, the opportunity to expand SLAM’s coverage was hard to turn down. I’m gonna continue to be great. You know, my heart will always be in commenting.”

Ryne: “That was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?”

Anton: “That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning. Well that and the fact that I look better than the mirror above my bed, but that’s neither here nor there. Humbling.”

The show tapers off, credits roll, and money is suspiciously given to charity. Ryne and Anton exchange pounds, the planned charade dropped as they smile for the photographers.

]]>http://www.slamonline.com/nba/the-decision-2/feed/29SLAMonlineNBA Will No Longer Help Kings Get a New Arenahttp://www.slamonline.com/nba/nba-will-no-longer-help-kings-get-a-new-arena/
http://www.slamonline.com/nba/nba-will-no-longer-help-kings-get-a-new-arena/#commentsWed, 29 Sep 2010 14:30:16 +0000http://www.slamonline.com/online/?p=92247

The L has basically told Sacramento’s ballclub that they’re on their own when it comes to building a new home. It’s yet another ominous sign for team’s future (or lack thereof) in the city. From the Bee: “Four years after the National Basketball Association commissioner announced he’d personally help get an arena built in Sacramento, the league issued a terse e-mail Tuesday saying it’s no longer taking an active role in local arena efforts. The statement came days after the Cal Expo board closed the door on an NBA-backed plan to move the State Fair to the Arco Arena site in Natomas to help finance a new downtown arena. ‘On the heels of the disappointing – but not surprising – action (or inaction) of the state and Cal Expo board, it is fair to say that the NBA has ceased its activities on the Sacramento arena front,’ league representative John Moag said in an e-mail to The Bee. ‘However, we will continue to monitor and respond to the activities and options of others that might reasonably ensure the competitiveness and viability of the Kings’ franchise.’ The now-defunct arena proposal, championed by local developers Gerry Kamilos and David Taylor, would have leveraged revenues from the sale of the Cal Expo site to help finance a new State Fair in Natomas and a sports and entertainment complex in the downtown railyard. The plan, called Sacramento Convergence, was chosen in April by the Sacramento City Council from among from seven responses to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s appeal for ‘out of the box’ ways to build a sports and entertainment complex. The complicated plan evolved in recent weeks into a proposal to privately finance and manage the State Fair as part of a year-round entertainment center in Natomas to be run by VisionMaker Worldwide, a resort and entertainment venue company headed by former Disney and Universal Studio executives. Cal Expo officials rejected a request to study the idea further, saying it was too speculative, and that the Arco site was not suitable for a State Fair. Johnson said he called NBA Commissioner David Stern on Sunday to talk, and that Stern was ‘not enthused’ by Cal Expo’s decision.”

FIBA is cool with players blocking shots that are on the rim, and wants the NBA to feel the same way. From ESPN: “The secretary general of FIBA, the governing body of international basketball, would like to see the NBA change its goaltending rules to allow players to knock the ball off the rim. The official, Patrick Baumann, made the comment during a lunch meeting with eight selected American and European journalists Thursday before the final two quarterfinal games at the FIBA World Championship. FIBA rules allow players to knock the ball off the rim after it touches the cylinder, whereas in the NBA that would constitute a goaltending violation. Baumann also said the chances of Great Britain being awarded a spot in the 12-team field for the 2012 Olympics will be made next March during a meeting of the FIBA executive committee, but will be contingent in large part on the British Basketball Federation’s road map toward building the growth of the sport for the long term. FIBA will be instituting two rules changes at the conclusion of this tournament, abandoning the trapezoid lane in favor of an NBA-sized rectangular lane, and moving the 3-point line back by a half-meter (19½ inches) from its current distance of 20 feet, 6.1 inches.”

Of the three games that’ll kick off the NBA season, each one should make for a solid matchup. Which will you be sure not to miss? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Howdy partners! It’s about three hours before tip-off and I’m sitting courtside here in Dallas, ready for All-Star 2010. I got here to Cowboys Stadium at noon to do some stuff on NBATV. And let me just say, this building is amazing. Like, really, really, really amazing. Walking in was like boarding the Starship Enterprise. I was here early enough to see Alicia Keys and Shakira rehearse, and they will not disappoint. (Luckily, Usher decided to start practicing while we were doing “The Beat” live on NBA TV. That was fun.)

• Seeing an uncomfortable Stan Van Gundy on the scoreboard during introductions cracked me up. HUGE ovation for Derrick Rose. Joe Johnson was pretty Joe Johnson as he rose up through the floor. I know it was corny, but I liked when they danced.

• Anthems: Gretchen Wilson did a great job on the US Anthem (with flag presented by soldiers from Ft. Hood), and the Canadian Tenors did the Canadian Anthem. No idea who they are, but they were good, too.

• We should consider this whole thing a win since the Black Eyed Peas aren’t involved, right?

• Just realized I haven’t actually seen Mark Cuban all weekend. Would be funny if he went to the Keys or something for the weekend.

• In an odd turn of events, the internet signal here in Cowboys Stadium is awesome, but the cellphone signal is a wash.

• West leads 6-3 early. Who’s going to be the first All-Star to going flying off the raised court? My guess is Gerald Wallace.

• First timeout of the game with the West leading 18-17. Nash has 5 assists, Melo leads all with 8 points.

• During that last time-out, they had a bunch of, um, in-shape women dunking off of trampolines. That could’ve been the best All-Star party of the weekend.

• Next timeout has video of Chris Paul singing “On Bended Knee,” and then Shaq singing “MotownPhilly,” then Dirk singing “End of the Road,” then LeBron and a tone-deaf Derrick Rose singing “Hard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday.” Funny stuff.

• Craig Sager’s tie is sparkly. Henry Abbott just ran down and did some reporting and found out where it came from.

• After one, the East leads 37-34. Melo leads everyone with 13 points, Dwight with 11. Only 1 foul on the East. Mark Cuban is probably furious about this somewhere.

• I wonder if Shaq and the Jabbawockeez are watching this game together somewhere?

• David Lee had a dunk attempt stripped and then just fouled Pau with the and-1. Josh Smith woulda dunked on someone by now.

• Just spotted Sam Perkins in a three-piece suit. Also here, Mark Aguirre in a DePaul long-sleeved t-shirt. Contrasts.

• During a timeout, Derek Fisher just came out with a bunch of kids in NBA Cares t-shirts to talk about NBA Cares. I was hoping he’s sing “If You’re Out There.” He didn’t.

• West is up 51-47 with 8 mins to go in the second. I was hoping we’d get to 200, but don’t think it’s happening.

• The last All-Star to get playing time? Jason Kidd. Most minutes played so far is Dwyane Wade with 12.

• Floyd Mayweather just walked past us with a seven-person entourage, of which Mayweather was the smallest member by far.

• They announce members of the Dream Team: Pippen, Mullin, Ewing and Magic. Other Dream Teamers — not invited!

• Pretty sure nobody tuned into All-Star to see a Kidd/Kaman two-man game.

• Kaman and Nowitzki running das two-man game!

• Joe Johnson’s giving us a little Iso-Joe. When Chris Bosh will pass the ball, that is.

• And at the half, the East leads 76-69. Nice halves for Melo (17 pts) and Durant (10 pts). Bosh is leading the game in minutes played with 15, Melo has 8 boards and Nash and Wade have 7 assists apiece.

• Now, Shakira and Alicia Keys.

• Rick Fox and Eliza Dushku just walked past me, hand in hand.

• I guess The Who wasn’t available?

• Waiting for my pulse to settle after that Shakira performance…

• David Stern just texted Roger Goodell and said, “That’s how you do a halftime.”

• I was just joking about Shakira. As far as Wifey knows.

• Second Half!

• Dwight Howard just dribbled the length of the court and came in for the hammer dunk, and he was coming directly at me the entire way (I’m sitting just behind the basket). And there’s no way in the world I’d ever try and take that charge.

• Mark Cuban is making his way down press row, glad-handing all the writers. He even has his shirt tucked in. Hey, it’s a start.

• The East is getting loose a little bit here, opening up a 9 point lead, 97-88, with 5:33 to go. Lots of dunks from Bron and Dwight.

• East up 103-94, Bron going full-blast out there. Wade has 16 and 10.

• Just showed Shaq on the scoreboard, and he kissed D-Scott on the head.

• I think Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones are having a cipher.

• PA announcer just said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Spike Lee!” And no mention of Swizz Beatz, sitting next to him.

• After three, the East leads 113-104. Mark Cuban and Jerry Jones are out on the court now trying to get the crowd hyped.

• Attendance is 108,713. Yikes.

• Score is actually 118-112, I think. Score here on the official box scores on our table is wrong, or maybe delayed.

• Derrick Rose just got subbed out of the game, and the only player standing and clapping (loudly) on the East bench was KG. The man is a team player.

• Ben just said “Whoa!” I turned and looked left and saw about half a dozen mascots in those inflatable suits all standing in place, bouncing up and down. A jarring sight.

• All mascots in every sport must have had to learn the “Single Ladies” dance.

• LeBron nearly went off the edge of the court there in front of the East bench. Closest anyone’s come yet, I think.

• East leading 135-126, with 3:52 left. Seem way more into this than the West right now.

• Prediction: Co-MVPs, Shaq and Kobe.

• East up 2, 1:46 to go. The MVP is ON THE LINE!

• Chris Bosh shakes loose for an oop and…MISSES it.

• Chauncey goes one-on-one and scores on an elbow jumper. Tie game.

• East misses, West comes down, game on the line…and Wade strips Deron Williams. For some reason the West fouls? The score was tied? Why did they foul? Weird. Wade calmly knocks down two free throws to give the East a 139-137 lead with 12.7 left.

• West ball. They go to Dirk on the wing, he gets Dirk in the air and draws two shots. Dirk to the line to tie it. Good and…good.

• Game tied at 139 with 7.7 left. East looks for Wade, covered, then Bron, covered. Dwight’s the third option, and he gives it back to a cutting Bosh, who gets fouled by Billups. A native Dallas dude to the line…good, and good. East leads 141-139, with 5 seconds left. Melo goes for three to win…and misses. Game, East wins 141-139.

Wade finishes with 28 and 11. Bron with 25 and 6.

Thanks for hanging in with us all night on the Liveblog. I’ve been taking photos all weekend for a long post next week when we return to NYC.

If the mark of a successful shoe release is buzz, consider the return of the Space Jam Air Jordan XI one for the books.

The stroke of midnight brought with it a frenzy that only the release of an XI can. Retailers opened their doors to hordes of sneakerheads from coast-to-coast last night and at the same time, those retailers watched their respective websites crash under the strain of thousands of customers who all wanted their J’s while sitting at home. By 2 a.m. Mountain Time, the term #spacejams had rocketed its way up to the fourth-highest trending topic on Twitter.

It’s easy to say that the return of the Space Jam has the sneaker community bursting at the seams. The staggering page count on message boards only hammers home the obvious, as it seems like heads everywhere are enjoying a long-awaited fix.

I was lucky enough to go through a much less dramatic pickup of the shoe this morning (a rare perk of being a sneaker enthusiast way up north). In all honesty, there was a longer lineup at Tim Horton’s than there was at Foot Locker in the West Edmonton Mall this morning.

After the joy of adding an important grail to my collection subsided enough so that I could focus on writing again, I realized that the Space Jam provides the ultimate in conundrums. A shoe of this significance, with this kind of following, with this much justified hype on it, it almost demands that something be written on it.

But what more can be said about the Air Jordan XI?

The single-most iconic shoe of the last 15 years? Easy.
Revolutionary materials? Check.
The most-coveted sneaker, regardless of colorway, in the Air Jordan line? Definitely.
A direction-changing sneaker for the industry? No question.

The fact that Jordan’s greatest single-season meshed perfectly with what was on his feet? Maybe we can get into that a little.

It’s not that the Air Jordan line was slipping in 1995. The Jordan IX and X were popular with consumers, and players across the league wore the X, Jordan included. But with Mike’s first full season back on the court being 1995-96, on the heels of a portion of a season played plus an unsuccessful playoff run the season prior, MJ was back for-real for-real, and everyone was waiting to see what would happen.

The XI proved to be the personification of Jordan’s comeback. In the same way that Jordan returned that season hungrier than ever, flossing a refined outside game, the XI was the classed-up addition to the Air Jordan line. No need for being the cut-your-heart-out, coming-at-you-at-every-chance sneaker anymore, the Jordan XI was like James Bond: just as lethal, but killing you in style, getting the job done better than anyone else and still not wrinkling the tux. The results he had in those shoes: All-Star, regular-season and Finals MVP, League scoring leader, 72 wins and his fourth Championship might as well all be tucked into the sneakers themselves, then enshrined in Springfield.

There’s a reason why people wear this shoe to their high school/college graduations, to weddings, why they save them for big games only. The Air Jordan XI, the Space Jam in particular, is the Rolls Royce of basketball footwear. It’s aesthetic perfection, almost too nice to put on your feet. If there’s any one sneaker out there that you should treat like royalty, it’s the XI. And if the XI is royalty, the Space Jam is the crown jewel.

Having only worn the shoes in the Bulls’ playoff loss to the Magic in ’95 and of course in Space Jam, the shoes existed as player editions initially, only hitting retailers for the first time in 2000, just over nine years ago to the day. If you ask me, this is the best way that Jordan Brand could have bookended this decade. Now we can start lobbying for a cool grey XI re-release. Maybe by 2019?

As the 2009 portion of the ’09-10 season winds down, Chris Paul isn’t all smiles. True, the 24-year-old is averaging close to 21 points and 11 assists per game and can have his name batted around in the discussion of the league’s best point guard.

At the same time, his New Orleans Hornets are struggling. Two-dozen games into the season, the team has already had a coaching change and are currently sitting at 11-13 in a Western Conference that’s traditionally unkind to sub-.500 teams.

Ask him about what he’s had on his feet this season though, and it’s all love. Literally.

“I love it,” Paul says about the third installment of his CP3 line from Jordan Brand. “I’m a little biased, but I love the way that it forms to my foot and for all the cutting and stopping and moving that I do it’s got the stability that I need.”

Paul broke out the CP3 III last week in Sacramento against the Kings and has been wearing them on the court since. The Mardi Gras colorway he wore in that Kings game will hit stores first, dropping at House of Hoops locations on December 26 for $118. Two other makeups of the shoe, white/black/varsity red and black/orion blue/white, will release nationally on January 2 with the same $118 price tag.

There are a ton of performance features with the shoe, but the one that jumped out at me the most was the use of Podulon. The technology is inspired by the Independent Podular Suspension (IPS) system that was used in the Air Jordan XX, XX1 and XX2. Podulon is designed to keep giving you that fresh-out-the-box feeling that you get from a high-end shoe on the first wearing. Paul’s shoe is the first Jordan Brand sneaker to use the technology.

Just about every ball player with a signature shoe has elements of personalization put into their sneaks, but Paul and Jordan Brand senior designer Jason Mayden went to town this year. The duo made sure that the shoe tells you something about its namesake.

The shoe uses hornet inspiration (the actual insect, not the Hornets) in the honeycomb-styled herringbone pattern on the sole of the shoe and even has a stinger that runs down the top of the tongue. The honeycombed pattern on the sole actually serves what JB calls, “360-degree traction” that helps an agile player like Paul on the court.

A family crest stretches across the upper of the shoe, paying tribute to Paul’s mother, father, brother and his late grandfather. The lace tips of the shoe have “336” — the area code for Winston-Salem — inscribed in them. The shoe’s outsole has a bowling reference, shouting out the other hardwood game that Paul excels at.

I had some time on the phone with Chris Paul on Thursday. Here’s our conversation on the shoe, with some notes for the tech-junkies at the bottom of the interview as well.

SLAM: How does the Podulon technology work for someone like you? Do you wear a fresh pair of shoes for every game anyway?Chris Paul: I go through a pair of shoes pretty quick because of all the cutting and stopping, but the biggest thing about the shoe, and me and Jay (Jason Mayden at Jordan Brand), we made sure that when I put the shoe on you don’t really have to break it in, you know?

You know how everyone always says they need to wear their shoes around for a little while to make sure they’re broken in? One thing I noticed about the shoe was that as soon as I put it on it was comfortable. It was exactly the way I needed it to be at the start of the game.

SLAM: Do you have a favorite colorway yet?CP: Yeah, probably the Mardi Gras edition.

SLAM: There have been pictures online of a version of the shoe that meshes with the Air Jordan III.CP: Where’d you see that at?

SLAM: It’s been on a few sites.CP: Are you talking about the shoe that’s a mix between my three and MJ’s three?

SLAM: Yeah. Is that something you’d maybe wear for All-Star this year?CP: Something for all-star? I’m not wearing that for all-star…what site are you on? (laughs)

SLAM: You wouldn’t wear that for All-Star? Is it a special edition or something?CP: I’ll probably wear that one at the World Championships this summer. That’s just for you to know though.

SLAM: Okay. So, you’re three shoes into this thing now. How has the line changed in that time?CP: It’s changed a lot, it’s changed a whole lot. I think part of that comes from me and Jay knowing each other so well now. Whenever it’s time to start working on the next shoe, he knows me. When he gives me a phone call or anything like that, he’s like, ‘What do you think about this with the shoe?’ And I’m like, ‘You read my mind.’

I think the shoe shows that. And when I’m playing on the court, performing on the court, there are times where I’ll do a move and I tell the trainers, I’m like, ‘Man, these shoes allow me to do what I need to do.’

SLAM: There are a lot of personal details in this shoe, do you want to talk about that?CP: There are a lot of different things on the shoe and I think that’s what made the one and the two and the three so special to me. It’s always letting people know more about my story and who I am.

On the side of the shoe you see the honeycombs, and I play for the New Orleans Hornets and you know, on the tongue you have the stinger and on the side of the shoe you have all of the different crests that represent my life and my family.

SLAM: How does that come about? Is it something where you go to them and say you want that?CP: Jay already knows how special my family is to me and when we can incorporate them in different ways on the shoe, he knows I’m gonna love that.

When he first came to me with the crests, I was blown away. I was blown away with what each one symbolizes. I think it’s pretty special because to someone else they just look like designs, but once you get deeper into the shoe and start to understand what’s really going on, you realize that it’s a part of me.

I think that helps me when I go on the court to play because I know my family is with me always anyway, but now they’re really with me.

JB reminders/updates
After much date jostling, the Jordan XI Space Jam will in fact be releasing on December 23. Also keep in mind that the white/red Jordan XII retro will drop on Dec. 19. That’s Saturday. As in tomorrow.

More NBA teams are seemingly on the throwback wagon, the alternate jersey bandwagon, and the re-do-the-whole-thing bandwagon, and the Minnesota Timberwolves are now members of two, if not all three, of those wagons within the past two years. One thing’s for sure is that the TWolves have been trying to improve the whole franchise since Kevin Garnett left town… emphasis on “trying.” While the roster has improved and shows some promise, not much can be said of their dominant home and away uniforms, which have ended up looking like a tragedy altogether.

The neckline, the silly mini-logos everywhere on the back and behind of the uniforms, and changing up from their previous classic look were all bad moves–and I understand it. With all the marketing and sportswear dollars that are generated year to year, upgrade your uniforms are just part of the money-making scheme. Of course, franchises usually like to be diplomatic about their changes and do make the attempt to settle on a look that’s palatable to both fans and players, but any and every significant update means that there’s more money. It’s my opinion that the TWolves do just what any other team does in this regard.

For instance, the update of a classic-looking uniform from a semi-important era for the Timberwolves probably should not be drastic. The best thing about the latest primary uniforms are that the typeface for the team city and nickname is bolder, bigger and more legible. The numbers look better, the surnames on the back of the jersey look good, and the side panels are creative enough (though not necessarily ideal in appearance). The need for an extra Timberwolf collar logo and writing on the derriere are what I call clutter. That’s the still-present not-so-great news about the Minnesota game aesthetic.

If you can recall those recently-deceased uniforms, you’ll know that aside from that unique Timberwolf font (with the sharp serifs) and the tree-lined neck and armhole trim, the 1996-2008 era apparel was simple enough to be accepted, but unique enough that it wasn’t of null effect to those who viewed watched the team. Dark cobalt blue, black and white were the dominant uniform colors. It was a genuinely likeable look. But of course, when you trade away your Hall of Fame franchise player who probably would’ve done his best Billy from the “Predator” movie if giving up his life were part of the objective list, I reckon removing the years of failure (via a uniform remix) is just what the doctor ordered for the front office’s psyche.

The good news is that Minnesota has returned to the original expansion uniforms for the Hardwood Classics nights in the regular season. Though initially thought to be bland and somewhat tame, considering the essence of what a wolf is thought to be (big and bad?), now the 1989 stylings seem like air as fresh as their peppermint blue and wintergreen hues. The simplicity of the uniform is so straightforward for a then-expansion team, it’s hard to believe that it actually became the introductory look for the Minnesota franchise.

Okay, so that’s it for Minnesota. Meanwhile, Nike has made its plans to release the latest in Kobe Bryant’s signature series with the Zoom Kobe V. In a look that almost is virtually unchanged in technology and overall design, the V is given the black/del sol-white treatment by the Swoosh.

Utilizing a 3/4-mid cut (NOT a low, like Nike and Kobe both tried to say about the Zoom Kobe IV last season), the V is more of a gradual evolution of the IV. (And by the way, plenty of superstar wing players hooped in low-cuts…all the time, actually; Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan on occasion, Magic Johnson, Steve Nash, Agent Zero…literally that “low cut” hype was much ado about nothing–it was a 3/4-mid-cut shoe, just like a Bo Jackson Nike Air Trainer, which also was designed to do anything because of its convenient low-mid height. Not a big deal.)

Apparently, the LunarLite foam wasn’t such a big hit for K.O.B.E. (word to Tyra Banks) and so, Nike swapped out the innovative material and gave the Kobe a much more responsive cushioning package with full-length Zoom Air and the standard Phylon EVA midsole, a marriage that has proven especially valuable in the Air Jordan series (although those set-ups were technically Phylon/forefoot-heel Zoom Air marriages).

The upper remains seamless, as it keeps the Flywire Vectran threads for support, so expect another lightweight winner with stability. With more carbon fiber and an external thermoplastic heel counter for a cupsole-like feel, the Zoom Kobe Vs will probably be even better than the previous installation in the series (even though the ZKV isn’t as attractive).

Look out for the new Kobes soon, though the colorway is sure to be limited in retail, if not an international release.

(Another shout goes to Andrew for the good look in providing the Speak-Easy with the necessary and much-appreciated sneaker intel.)

Sandy Dover is a novelist/writer, artist, fitness enthusiast, as well as an unrepentant Prince fan (for real). You can find Sandy frequently here at SLAMonline, as well as at Associated Content and Twitter.

All told, the vast majority of NBA players on the über-popular social networking website say very little of consequence. Most of their tweets are inane, self-promotional, and add absolutely nothing of value (this is true for most other people in the twitterverse.)

Following in the No Fun League’s footsteps, David Stern and his team want to make sure this thing doesn’t get out of hand. Like, you know, someone sending out a tweet in mid-flight, as he catches an alley-oop … or something.Yahoo! reports:

“Obviously, there is a happy medium between tweeting before the game and tweeting from our bench during the game,” Stern said by phone. “You want to make sure that pop culture doesn’t intrude on what brought us here, which is the game, and that we show the right respect for the game.”

Stern described the NBA’s guidelines as “nothing too serious. We just need to make sure when it’s OK to Tweet and when it’s not OK to Tweet so it at least focuses around the game,” he said. “It would look unusual for a guy sitting on the bench to pick up his cell phone, and I think we can agree that he probably shouldn’t be writing e-mails.

It’s not about Twitter; it’s about the line of communication. That’s what we’re focusing on. We’re happy to let it play out to see if it merits all the attention that it’s getting. We don’t want to overreact.”

The NFL’s new social media policy restricts players, coaches, and virtually anyone else associated with the production of a game from interacting with the outside world 90 minutes prior to kickoff, and only after having supplied accredited media members with the requisite clichés following each game. I would expect the NBA’s own policy to more or less fall in line with this.

That’s according to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the Association in their case versus James Battista, one of Tim Donaghy’s partners in crime (along with co-conspirator Thomas Martino.)

James Battista, who conspired with referee Timothy Donaghy to get information on games for betting purposes, claimed he should not be liable for restitution because the league could not be considered a victim under the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982. But the 2nd Circuit said the NBA was “‘directly and proximately harmed’ by Battista committing the crime of conspiracy to transmit wagering information” and that restitution was properly imposed under the act in United States v. Battista, 08-3750-cr.

“Although Battista did not defraud the NBA directly, we conclude that the district court properly characterized the NBA as a ‘victim’ under the [Victim and Witness Protection Act] because the NBA was harmed by the conduct committed during the course of the conspiracy to transmit wagering information, e.g., Battista’s use of nonpublic information solely belonging to the NBA (conveyed to him by the co-conspirators) to place illegal wagers on its games,” Judge Richard C. Wesley said.

Basically, the original ruling that Battista and company pay more than $200K in damages to the NBA stands, regardless of the criminals’ financial situation. Though still hurting from the scandal, from a legal standpoint, the League now appears to be in the clear.

In the court of public opinion, however, NBA refs still have a very long way to go.

You knew this day was coming, sooner than later: “Beginning this season the NBA will let teams sell ads on their practice jerseys, says deputy commissioner Adam Silver, who adds the league is continuing to explore the issue of ads on game jerseys. ‘We are operating a diverse business all around the world,’ Silver says. ‘(The sponsored game jersey) is a well-established practice in other countries. Ultimately, I think our fans will come to accept it.'”

1. Each time I post a new Dirty 30, I rank the teams anew, meaning I don’t look at the previous rankings at all until I have to enter in the PREV slots. So I thought it was kinda funny that so many teams (12 of the 30) are in the same place they were two weeks ago when I last posted a Dirty 30.

2. In short, I think L.A.’s the best team in the League because of their depth, their offense, their experience, their coach and their size. But Cleveland and Boston are not far off.

3. Finally got rid of my Sidekick and made the move to a G1 phone. (Thanks, T-Mobile!) I am not regretting it whatsoever thus far.

4. In the COMMENT section on the Dirty 30, I try to drop all the links I don’t have anywhere else to post (other than on my Twitter feed, at least until we get that hooked into The Links). So have fun with those.

Let’s get Dirty…

RANK

PREV

TEAM

REC

COMMENT

1

3

Los Angeles Lakers

46-10

You know the one guy on the Lakers who is getting criminally slept on? Derek Fisher. He must be one of the most dangerous players in the NBA with a career ppg average below 10, right?

2

2

Cleveland Cavaliers

43-11

Two things keep me from being convinced that the Cavs are a legit Championship team: 1) Lack of quality depth, particularly on the interior 2) Lack of offensive imagination. I’m just not sure how much having the best player in the world factors in to rendering those points moot.

3

1

Boston Celtics

46-12

I know they KO’d Phoenix and Denver without KG, but they lost to Utah before that with him. I think the Celts are a little too inconsistent this year, especially without the added depth of James Posey and PJ Brown. And Mikki Moore is no PJ Brown.

4

4

Orlando Magic

41-14

5-3 since Jameer went down, but I think ultimately Rafer will make them a more dangerous team.

5

5

San Antonio Spurs

37-17

From the Spurs team report on Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!: “C Fabricio Oberto took his father along for the final leg of the Rodeo Trip, which ended Saturday at Washington. Raul Oberto traveled from Argentina to watch games at New York, Detroit and Washington. The elder Oberto had not seen his son play in person since 2000, when Fabricio was playing in Spain. The son said it was hard persuading his dad to take two weeks of vacation from his job at a farm equipment supply company.”

6

7

Denver Nuggets

37-20

Great Nuggets stat I learned on Twitter yesterday: Teams that get to the line most often, measured by fta/possession: 1. DEN 2. UTA 3. ORL 4. GSW 5. PHO. Lowest? NYK, SAS, and DAL.

7

10

Houston Rockets

35-21

In a roundabout way, I think the Rockets losing T-Mac for the season actually helps them, because now they don’t have to worry night-to-night about whether or not he’s going to play. At the same time, they lose their best one-on-one scorer.

8

8

New Orleans Hornets

33-22

The Hornets are the second-worst rebounding team in the NBA. Coaches always say rebounding is about desire and hustle. Desire and hustle are either innate or are fostered by coaching. Which means…

9

6

Portland Trailblazers

35-20

Does anyone still think Greg Oden isn’t injury prone? In other news, the Blazers looked great last week, but I still think they’re one year away from being true contenders. Though it helps that Brandon Roy gets calls like Michael Jordan used to.

10

11

Phoenix Suns

31-24

We’re about to find out just how good Suns trainer Aaron Nelson really is — he can keep Nash and Shaq healthy, but can he somehow make Amare/é/’e’s eye heal faster?

11

12

Utah Jazz

34-23

Watched the Hawks/Jazz game last night and the one thing I can say for certain is that Jerry Sloan somehow gets those guys to consistently play really hard.

12

15

Atlanta Hawks

32-24

During last night’s Hawks game, as Mike Bibby played his best Steve Nash defense, I was told that he was suffering from the same illness that’s been going around the Hawks locker room of late. What, I wondered, the no-defense flu? Remember how the Hawks were playing great defense in November? Neither do the Hawks.

13

9

Dallas Mavericks

33-22

They’re 11 games over .500, but they’ve gotta be the best boring team in the NBA. We need Cubes to stir up some excitement and stop blogging about Bernie Madoff. The man is obsessed. At least J-Kidd’s alleged girlfriend is gonna be in Playboy.

14

14

Miami Heat

29-26

I’m glad the Heat finally got a point guard, but I didn’t expect it would be D-Wade.

15

16

Philadelphia 76ers

27-28

I just did the math, and this has to be a record of some sort: Our man Sammy Dalembert is on pace to finish the season with a 4.8-1 turnover-to-assist ratio.

It’s just one man’s opinion, but here’s some reading to get you G-State (and OKC and Sacto and Minny and whoever else) fans prepped for next year.

25

24

Minnesota L-Wolves

18-37

Since we’re in Minnesota…I had a dream last night that I went to some sort of seminar about learning how to be a DJ and for some reason it was taught by Prince. He started the class off by grabbing a record and putting on “Purple Rain” — you know, the electric guitar intro part — and then suddenly he did something and became almost completely invisible like one of The Chimera in “Resistance 2.” Then I woke up. The lesson? Don’t play “Resistance 2” for two hours just before going to bed.

Since we’re in Hollywood here, anyone watching the new season of “The Amazing Race”? Sad to see Randy Johnson and his much older wife lose this week. Hilarious when dude broke down at the end. This is called great TV.